Blood and Magic
by A Foxchild
Summary: A story of love triangles, violence, and sex.  Plus you the readers will choose who Hawke will end up with either Fenris or Anders.  Please Note: I do not own Dragon Age 2, but I do like playing the game.
1. Read Before Chapter 1

Please Read Before Starting Story

This fanfic will love triangle between female Hawke, Fenris, and Anders. Unlike other writer, I will let the reader, aka you, decide who Hawke will end up with at the end of the story. I humbly ask that is what you put in the reviews along with how I can make this story better.

A few things to note, the story will be told through the eyes Fenris and Anders starting from when Anders meets Hawke in Act 1. Then the story will end just after the events in Act 3. Hawke will have sex with Fenris in Act 2, but in the next chapter, she will have a chance to move on to Anders. That is the chapter I will ask for finial choices, and Hawke will not change romantic partners after that chapter.

I hope that you all enjoy this, and if turns out well I'll do the same thing for a Dragon Age: Organs fanfic after I am done with this one.


	2. Chapter 1: Anders Meets Hawke

Anders could not believe what he was hearing. "Are you sure?"

"Yes, Healer," The brown eyed woman, whose name Anders could not remember, said. "Four people came to the Lirene's store asking for you. Three were human and one was a dwarf. They claimed that they were Fereldan and had no intention of hurting you, but…"

"It still sounds like a Templar trap," Anders passed back and forth in his clinic trying to think of what to do.

"Healer, what are you going to do?" The woman gave Anders a worried look.

"_So they are finally coming for us."_ Justice's voice said in his head. _"And they will not take us without a fight!"_

Anders had to fight to keep Justice under control. The last thing that he wanted to do was hurt the people who were trying to help him. This was not the time, not yet. Worst of all, there was a small chance, however remote, that these people were not really Templars.

"Are you alright?" The woman asked noticing the discomfort on Anders's face.

"I'm fine," He said quickly turning away from her. "I'm just worried."

The six other Fereldans who had come with her all said that they would fight to protect him, but he quickly told them no. His clinic was small, two-room dirty hovel with room only for six or seven patients with only one way in or out and no windows. In other words, it was a good place to heal and hide, but a death trap if anyone came to kill him. Plus, if they really were Templars, Anders knew that Justice would come out, and if Justice came out everyone who was in the clinic would be killed even if they were trying to help him.

"I don't know," Anders turned to face the woman. "Just keep as many people away from the clinic as possible just in case. I don't want innocent people getting hurt in a fight between me and Templars."

"Yes, Healer," With that, she turned and several others went with her leaving Anders alone in his clinic.

At least an hour passed and no one had come. Anders was starting to think that no one was coming.

Then the door opened with a bang. Anders grabbed his staff ready for a fight, but instead of the three humans and a dwarf, he saw a man holding a child who could have been no more than six years old in his arms.

"Healer, my son" The man's said in a frantic voice. "He fell, and won't wake up."

Anders cursed under his breath. This was the worst possible time for something like this. Of course, he could turn them away, but in his heart Anders knew that he would never do that.

"Place him on the cot," Anders ordered.

The man did as he was ordered. Anders placed his hand on the boy's head and used his magic to see if there was really anything that he could do. After all, there was only so much that magic could do.

"Your son is at death's door due to an injury on his back," Anders said gravely, "All things considered, he is lucky that he did not die instantly. I may be able to save him, but there is a chance that he will never be able to walk again."

"I don't care just save him," The man pleaded.

Anders closed his eyes and started to heal the boy. In his mind's eye, he could see the damaged part of his spine, and he started to heal him. Anders knew that he had to be careful or he would kill the poor lad. First he fixed the cracks in the bone, then he fixed the nerves in the spine, and then at last he healed the bruising. After the last piece of tissue was completely healed, the boy woke up.

Anders was not sure how long it took him to heal the boy, but it did take a lot out of him. _Maker, that was difficult._ Anders thought as he struggled to keep his balance. He could just barely hear the door open.

"I hope that this is the place, Varric," said a soft, but confidant female voice.

"It looks like the description Lirene gave us," answered a sarcastic sounding voice.

"_They are here!"_ Justice's voice raged.

Anders grabbed his staff and turned to face small group of people by the door. "I have made this place a sanctum of healing and salvation. Why do you threaten it?"

The four people standing at the door seemed slightly taken aback by Anders. Just as he was told, there were three humans and a dwarf. Two of the humans were obviously brother and sister with their jet black hair and crystal blue eyes matching each other too much for it just to be chance. The third human was a ginger woman dressed in a guard uniform. The dwarf had no beard, something Anders had never seen with a dwarf, with strawberry-blond hair and with a large crossbow slung on his back.

"Strange to see a Grey Warden healing," The dark haired woman gave a quick glance to the boy Anders just healed, who was now leaving with his father, leaving the five of them alone. "I thought that you were all kill, taint, and save the world."

Anders was now quite sure that these people were not working with the Templars. "Did the Wardens send you to bring me back? Well I'm not going those bastards made me get rid of my cat. Poor Ser Pounce-A-Lot, he hated the Deep Roads."

"I would ask about the cat, but I think that introductions should come first," The dark haired woman stepped toward Anders and held out her hand. "My name is Marian Hawke."

"I'm Anders," Anders shook her hand.

While shaking Marian's hand, Anders felt a jolt of electricity shoot up his arm. _Maker, she's a mage!_ Anders looked Marian in the eye, and she smiled a half lipped smile and seemed to understand that he understood.

"That is my brother, Carver," Marian let go of Anders's hand and gestured toward the dark haired man behind her.

"Are you…" Anders started.

"I'm not." Carver curtly cut him off.

"The guard is Aveline, and the dwarf is Varric," Marian gestured at the other two.

"Is this really necessary, Hawke?" Varric asked Marian.

"Yep," Marian said, giving the dwarf a cocky grin, "Otherwise, how can I feel fine with asking about the cat?"

Marian turned back to Anders. "You had a cat named Ser Pounce-A-Lot in the Deep Roads?"

Anders decided that he like Marian. "He was a gift a noble beast. Almost got ripped in half by a gunlock once, he swapped the bugger right in the nose drew blood too. The blighted Warden said he made me too soft, so I had to give him to a friend in Amaranthine."

Marian giggled.

"Remember why we are here, sister," Carver said through gritted teeth.

"You're no fun, Carver," Marian sighed. "We are planning an expedition to the Deep Roads, and any information that you have could save lives."

Anders was slightly taken aback at the request. No sane person would want to go to the Deep Roads. "I would die a happy man if I never had to think about the Deep Roads again."

Anders then thought about Karl. These people might be able to help. "Although, a favor for a favor. I do have maps of the Deep Roads in this area, but you will have to help me with something."

"Whatever it is I'll help you," Marian stated.

"Just like that?" Anders asked, "What if I wanted the Knight-Commander's head on a pike?"

Marian raised an eyebrow. "Is that what you want?"

"No, I just need to get my friend mage Karl out of the city." Anders waited to see if she would help or not.

"I'd help any fellow mage escape the Templars. Maps or no," Marian looked at Anders. "Where and when do we meet him?"

"At the Chantry just after midnight," Anders said.

"Then I will see you tonight," Marian and her friends walked out of his clinic.


	3. Chapter 2 Fenris's Test

It did not take long for Fenris to find who he was looking for, even if he had only been in Kirkwall for a few days. Marian Hawke looked just like Anso had said, and Fenris was able to find her around Lowtown just as Anso had said. She had long, black hair that was tied into a pony-tail with a piece of red cloth with crystal blue eyes and ivory colored skin, but Fenris still could not believe it. _That can't be her._ Fenris thought.

Fenris had heard many rumors about Marian Hawke, but she did not look anything like he expected. According to Anso, this woman was the sole reason that Athenril and her small gang of smugglers were able to become the only rivals to the Coterie. From that, Fenris thought that he would see a commanding woman armed to the teeth with hard glare in her eyes. Instead, Hawke was a petite with a lanky body with her face apparently carrying a small smile at all time and walked with a small bounce in her step. She was not wearing any armor with a simple brown tunic and black pants covering her body. The only weapon that she carried was a large dagger that hung loosely from her belt.

A male dwarf was walking next to her. He had strawberry blond hair which was tightly tied up. The dwarf was wearing a brown coat and a red shirt that was half opened to reveal his chest hair.

"Hawke, are you sure about this?" The dwarf wearing a brown coat, who Fenris assumed was a friend of hers, questioned, "I mean Hightown is not the safest place during the day let alone around midnight."

"Don't worry Varric," Hawke answered in a soft, jovial voice. "We will help Anders get his friend safely out of the city, and then we will get the maps. All and all, I am sure that…"

"Don't say that 'nothing can go wrong,'" Varric cut her off. "That is right up there with 'what can possibly go wrong' in the world of stories."

Hawke laughed. "In case you haven't noticed Varric, this is real life not a story."

"Will Aveline be there to help us?" Varric asked, ignoring Marian's comment.

"No," Hawke and Varric walked right past Fenris's hiding place, not seeing him. "As the future Guard Captain, she is way too busy to help us with this. Carver will be coming though."

"You told her not to come didn't you?" Varric gave the woman a knowing smile. "That way if things go wrong, she won't get in trouble."

"Maybe, maybe not," Hawke walked toward the broken down homes. "We'll meet in the Hightown Market around midnight."

The dwarf said that he would be there, and then walked into the Hanged Man tavern. _The Hightown Market around midnight…_ Fenris thought an idea coming to him. He needed to make sure that this woman would be able to handle herself in a fight, or the elf would need to hire someone else to trick the Tevinter slave catchers that Danarius sent. (Fenris gritted his teeth at the very thought of the man who has made his life Hell.) Fenris knew that the Coterie wanted Hawke dead, and that they could very easily be lead to believe that they could trap her in the small market area.

"We will soon see if you are as good as I am lead to believe," Fenris said to himself.

It did not take too long for Fenris to find a low member of the Coterie. All low members of the Coterie hung around the Lowtown Market collecting money for _protection_. The Coterie member was a large burly man who looked more like a darkspawn than a human.

"I have some information for the Coterie," Fenris walked up to the ugly man knowing that this human would not be able to hurt him. "It concerns Marian Hawke."

The man's face drained of color at the very sound of her name. "W…w…what information do you have?"

Fenris was taken aback by the man's reaction. How could that woman inspire such fear in such a man? "She is going to be in the Hightown Market around midnight. If you work quickly, you might be able to set a trap for her."

The ugly man quickly walked into the nearest warehouse. Fenris did not need to be told what the man was doing. The elf knew that the Coterie was now going to be working on a trap. If Hawke was really as good of a fighter as the rumors claimed, then she would be able to handle whatever the Coterie was planning, and if she was not, Fenris would be able to find some else to help him. After all, if Fenris was right, Danarius was in Kirkwall, and Fenris needed someone who would be able help him kill his former master.

That night, Fenris went to the Hightown Market. The sun had just set, and Fenris wanted to make sure that he had enough time to find a good hiding place without getting in the way of whatever the Coterie was planning. It took the elf about thirty minutes to find a good hiding on the roof of a nearby building where he would be able to see everything in the tiny market. Plus, he doubted that anyone in the gang would think about hiding there. Fenris was easily able to shimmy up the building and find a comfortable place to wait.

After a few hours, twenty members of the Coterie entered the market. Fenris's green eyes observed the men, who were all just as large and ugly as the man he told about Hawke, set up several traps and hide, waiting for their prey to arrive. Fenris had to admit that this was a pretty well thought-out trap. _I wonder if she will be able to get out of this…_ He wondered, starting to feel a tiny bit of regret for setting this up.

It was a few minutes until midnight when Hawke, a tall man with short, black hair, and the dwarf Fenris saw with Marian earlier were about to enter the market. _So it begins._ The elf thought.

"Wait," Marian stopped the others from entering the market.

"What is it?" asked the tall man in a harsh voice. "The sooner we help the…"

"Varric," She turned to the dwarf, not letting her other companion finish. "Will you please look at the area in front of us and tell my dear brother what he is missing?"

Varric took a quickly scanned the area. "Maker's breath! The market is covered in traps!"

"Wait, traps?" Marian turned to the drawf with a confused look on her face. "I was talking about the idiots hiding behind the pillars waiting to attack us."

Fenris had to admit that he was impressed. Even though the elf had watched them hide, Fenris was hardly able see them from his hiding place. _Maybe there is more to this woman than I thought._ The elf thought as the Coterie members jumped out of their hiding places. The two siblings looked at each other and sighed.

"Right, left, or middle?" Marian asked her brother while removing her dagger from her belt.

"Middle," Her brother answered, grabbing his two-handed sword.

"Then I take left," Marian smiled a cocky grin.

"What are you two talking about?" Varric asked.

"You'll see." Marian said. "Just tell us if we are going to step on any traps, and let Bianca kill everyone to the right of Carver."

Marian and her brother charged while the dwarf drew a large crossbow and started firing. The gang members tried to corner the woman, but Carver's large slashes and Varric's crossbow bolts kept about half of them away from her. Marian, on the hand, was dancing around seven Coterie members with her dagger slitting wrists and throats without them able to so much as scratch her skin.

"Remind me never to get on your bad side," Varric said as the Coterie members around Marian fell to the ground choking on blood. "Seems to be…unhealthy."

Marian shrugged. "They should be thankful that I'm in a good mood. We had better hurry, or we'll miss meeting Anders at the Chantry."

With that, the three of them walked over the twenty corpses taking great care not to step on the traps. Fenris found himself smiling. _Yes, these people will be able to help._ The elf thought as he climbed down from his hiding place. All he had to do now was let Anso send a message to Hawke.


	4. Chapter 3: Tranquility

It was a few minutes before midnight when Anders arrived at the Chantry. There was no sign of Karl or of Marian and her friends. At first, he was not sure if anyone was coming, but then out of the corner of his eye, Anders saw Karl heading toward the house of worship. Before Karl could get a good look at him, the mage hid behind the closest pillar, more to make sure that Karl was not leading helping the Templars with a trap than anything else.

Karl walked right past Anders hiding place and entered the Chantry. Anders waited for a few minutes, and there was no sign of either Marian or Templars. The mage was just about to enter the Chantry believing that neither would show when he heard voices.

"You could have just blasted them with a fireball, Hawke," stated Varric's voice, or what Anders thought was Varric's voice.

"Yes, I could have," Marian's voice retorted. "But that could attract half of the Templars in Kirkwall, and last time I checked, we are trying to avoid attracting Templars tonight."

Anders saw Marian, Carver, and Varric walk up the stairs to the Chantry. All three, especially Marian, had large amounts of blood on their clothes. For some reason, the appearance of so much blood on Marian made him feel uneasy.

"Maker's breath! What happened to you?" Anders walked over to Marian. "Are any of you hurt?"

"No need to worry, Anders," Marian said with that same smile that she gave him at his clinic. "It wasn't the Templars, just an old headache."

"Which could have ended faster if you used magic," Carver stated, giving Marian a harsh glance. "But then again, the Coterie wouldn't be setting traps for us if someone didn't keep stealing from them."

Marian sighed and turned to her brother. "I only stole from them a couple of dozen times which is no reason make it personal. Plus, we were working for Athenril at the time."

"I am sorry, Anders," She turned back to the mage, with a hint of regret in her eyes. "Has Karl arrived yet?"

"Yes," Anders heard Justice chide him for momentarily forgetting about Karl. "I saw Karl go inside a few minutes ago. No Templars so far."

"Are you ready or are you waiting for Aveline?" Anders asked, taking a look around for the guardswoman.

"She wasn't able to come," Marian answered. "And I didn't see anyone suspicious on the way here."

"Except for those who just tried to kill us," Varric sarcastically added.

"They don't count," Marian said with a cocky smile. "To count, they have to be an actual threat. Let's get this over with."

Anders nodded. "Alright. I'll do the talking, while you watch for Templars."

With that, Anders opened the door to the Chantry, and the four of them entered the house of worship. The huge wooden door led to a large, dimly lit, open hall. There were four golden statues of Andraste's followers flanked the hall with swords held aloft with orbs of burning incense hanging from them. The walls and floor was made of fine marble which all led to a giant gold statue of Andraste herself clad in armor holding a sword in the sanctuary where the Grad Cleric would preach to the people. Near the sanctuary, there were staircases leading toward other parts of the Chantry. Anders had to admit that the place was beautiful.

However, in the corner of his eye, Anders saw Marian give a small shudder and she kept her eyes down. Neither Varric nor Carver seemed to notice Marian's apparent discomfort. _I wonder what is wrong._ Anders thought.

"Are you alright?" Anders whispered to Marian hoping that the other two couldn't hear.

"I'm fine," Marian replied quickly in a hushed voice. "It just feels a little creepy in here without anyone else around."

Anders knew that she was lying. He did not know how he knew, but he did. The mage chose not to press the issue. _She is a mage after all, and she must see this place as a symbol of oppression._ Anders thought as the four of them walked down the large hall.

Changing the subject, Anders said, in a voice load enough for the others to hear as well. "When we find Karl, just let me talk to him."

"Where are we meeting him," Marian asked.

"Just up these stairs," Anders pointed at the staircase to the right of them just before the sanctuary.

Anders led the way up the pristine stairs. Once up the stairs, Anders saw Karl standing in front of a small shrine where people would light candles to represent dead loved ones who had passed on. Karl was standing alone his dark mage robes off set his salt-and-pepper hair. Best of all there was no sign of any Templars in sight.

"Karl," Anders called out to his friends walking toward his friend with the others following in toe.

"Anders I know you too well," Karl flatly stated not turning to look at Anders. "I knew you would never give up."

"What's wrong?" Anders asked, knowing this was not how Karl usually spoke. "Why are you talking like…"

Karl then turned around, and Anders saw the brand of the Tranquil on Karl's forehead. "I was too rebellious, like you. The Templars knew I had to be made an example of."

"No," Anders could not believe it.

"How else will mages ever master themselves?" Karl stated, his voice never changing from that flat, deadpan tone. "You understand Anders, once the Templars teach you to control yourself."

"Templars!" Marian called, reaching for her dagger.

Anders looked at the seven Templars coming up the stairs. _They must have set this up to trap us!_ Anders thought, or Justice said. He was not sure where the thought came from. Justice's anger swelled up in Anders blurring his vision.

"This is the apostate," Karl pointed at Anders.

"NO!" Anders shouted, Justice taking over. "You will not take another mage as you took him!"

The next thing that Anders knew, the Templars were all dead with Carver and Varric standing as far away from his as they were able. The mage could see the fear in their eyes. Marian, however, was removing her dagger from the throat of a nearby Templar, not seeming to mind Anders at all.

"Anders, what did you do?" Karl's shaken voice questioned. "It's like you brought a piece of the Fade back into this world."

Anders turned to face his friend. The light was back in Karl's eyes, and he looked around ass if not sure how he got there. The brand that was on his forehead had vanished completely. Somehow, Karl was back to normal. Marian walked over to Karl with a look of utter confusion on her face.

"I'm not sure what to be more confused about," Marian looked at Anders and Karl trying to take in what she was seeing. "The glowing eyes thing or a Tranquil not being a Tranquil anymore."

"When you are Tranquil, you never think of your life before," Karl said, giving Anders a strange look. "But, it is like the Fade itself is inside Anders. Burning like a sun."

Anders saw the brand slowly start to reappear.

"Please, kill me before I forget again!" Karl pleaded. "I don't know how you brought it back, but it's fading."

"Karl, no," Anders could not kill his friend.

"Maybe we can cure him," Marian suggested.

"Can you cure a beheading?" Anders looked at Marian. "The dreams of Tranquil mages are severed. There is nothing in them to fix."

"Anders," Karl put his hand on Anders's shoulder. "I would rather die a mage than live as a Templar puppet."

Anders looked at his friend. The brand was almost completely back now.

"I would rather die than be Tranquil," Marian gave Anders a pleading look. "Help him or let me."

"I got here too late," Anders pulled out a small dagger from his robes. "I'm sorry Karl. I'm so sorry."

"Now! It's fading…" Karl's brand was back now, and the light in his eyes was gone. "Why do you look at me like that?"

Anders plunged his dagger into Karl's heart. "Good-bye."

Anders turned to the others. "We should leave before more Templars come."

Marian placed her hand on Anders shoulder. "Are you going to be alright?"

"I just need to be alone for while," Anders answered, walking towards the exit.


	5. Chapter 4: The Morning After

Anders sat on a wooden bench in his clinic alone and thought about the events the previous night. The mage usually did not like it when his clinic was empty, but after the night he had, Anders was happy to be left alone with his thoughts. The image of Karl with that damn brand on his forehead was like a knife in his heart. Karl was a good mage, and a good man. The two had been close friends for years, even before Anders had joined the Grey Wardens. The Templars had no right to make him Tranquil.

Anders could feel Justice getting close to taking over again. _No, I have to keep control._ Anders thought fighting Justice's anger. The last thing he needed was for a patient to come in for healing, and Justice killing him or her. Just as Anders felt that Justice was going to take over again, Marian walked into the clinic.

"Good morning, Anders," Marian greeted.

"Good morning," Anders replied, not sure what else to say.

Anders had to admit that he was surprised to see Marian. After what happened in the Chantry last night, the mage was quite sure that it would be several days at least before either Marian or her friends would come to see him. Unlike yesterday, today she wore a dirty grey cloak that she draped over her body keeping her arms hidden within. _Maybe she is just here for the maps._ Anders thought remembering the reason that she tried to find him in the first place.

"The people in Darktown must be a very healthy lot," Marian looked around the empty clinic, keeping her arms hidden in her cloak. "There never seems to be anyone here."

"It is actually usually very busy," Anders found himself saying. "Days like this don't happen very often."

"May I sit down?" Marian walked to the chair opposite the bench Anders was sitting on.

"If you wish," Anders answered.

"Thanks," Marian sat down and pulled out four bottles of ale from her cloak. "At times like these, I find that a few drinks and a friend to listen can lessen the sadness of loosing someone dear."

"You came here just to give me four bottles of ale?" Anders asked, wondering how she came up with that idea.

"Two are for me," Marian said while handing Anders one of the bottles. "After all, what is the fun of drinking alone?"

"You aren't going to ask about what happened to me last night?" Anders questioned. "And you are not going to ask for the maps to the Deep Roads?"

"You had to kill your friend last night," Marian pulled the cork out of her bottle. "Only an inconsiderate asshole would ask for something from someone after that, and I won't ask about that magic you did unless you want me to."

Anders laughed and felt Justice's anger lessen. "Considering the looks on your brother's and Varric's faces, you can hardly blame me for thinking that, but you can ask about what happened last night if you want to."

"Which is why neither of them are here," Marian gave Anders a warm smile. "And sense you gave your blessing that was not normal magic you did last night was it?"

"I… this is hard to explain." Anders placed his unopened bottle on the ground. "When I was in Amaranthine, I meet a spirit of Justice who was trapped outside the Fade. We became friends. And he recognized the injustice that mages in Thedas face every day."

"Was this in your Grey Warden days?" Marian asked.

"Yes, it was," Anders smiled at the memory of sitting at the Vigil's Keep's dining hall with Kallian, or the Hero of Ferelden as Marian most likely knew her, and the other Wardens joking and laughing.

"Well this spirit sounds like a good friend to have," Marian said.

"He was far better to me than I have been to him," Anders lowered his head. "To live outside the Fade he needed a host, and I offered to help him. We were going to work together to bring justice to every child ripped away from his or her mother to be sent to the Circle, but I guess that I had too much anger. Once inside me he changed."

Anders paused as a wave of regret washed over him.

"Take your time, Anders" Marian kindly stated. "I understand that this can't be easy for you."

Anders took in a deep breath and continued. "I thought that I was helping my friend. He would have… died…I guess, if that even means anything, and he wanted to help me. He knew what mages have suffered. There was too much hatred in me, but Justice thought that he could overcome that."

Anders had to pause again. This was the first time that he was telling this to anyone, and hearing himself talk about it was almost overwhelming.

After a moment or two of silence, Anders said, "But my anger… When I see Templars now, things that have always outraged me, but I could never do anything about. He comes out, and he is no longer my friend Justice. He is a force of vengeance, and he has no grasp for mercy."

"Can you bring him out at will?" Marian questioned after a sip from her bottle.

Anders shook his head. "No, he comes out only when I lost all power over myself. It is a madness, a frenzy. I only found out after what I might have done."

"Is there anything I can do for you?" Marian asked, giving Anders a strange look that he could not distinguish as pity or understanding.

Anders could not really believe what he was hearing. Why was she not running away from him? Anders knew that he was, more or less, an abomination. Something that any normal person would run away from, but here was this woman, a mage like himself, offering aid when there was nothing that she could do.

"You are the first person I have ever told any of this to," Anders looked at Marian. "Thank you for not running away. My maps are yours, as is my help if you want it. I thought that I was done with the Grey Wardens, but if you have any need of me I will be here."

"We'll worry about the Deep Roads later," Marian leaned back in the chair and raised her bottle. "Right now, I say we should drink to the memory of Karl."

Anders opened his bottle. "To Karl."

Anders was not sure how long he and Marian sat, talked, and joked, but he was grateful for her company. Marian asked many questions about what life was like in the Grey Wardens, while Anders asked about Marian's life before she came to Kirkwall. Anders found it so easy to talk to her. It was almost as though had been friends for years instead of knowing each other for only two days.

Once both bottles were empty, Marian sighed. "I should have brought more ale. There was no way we could get drunk with only two bottles each."

"It wouldn't matter," Anders laughed. "Justice doesn't let me get drunk anymore. I really miss it."

"You poor man," Marian stood up. "Well, before I leave."

Marian walked over to the closed door of the clinic. She gestured to Anders to keep quiet and opened the door with a hard quick motion. Carver, who was apparently leaning against the door, fell into the clinic.

"If you wanted a drink, you should have come in and asked for one brother dear," Marian said, offering a helping hand to her brother.

"I don't need your help!" Carver snapped as he pushed her hand away.

"I'm leaving!" Carver stood up and stormed out of the clinic.

"How long was there?" Anders questioned, wondering how Marian knew that her brother was there.

"About the time you started talking about Justice," Marian stated with a soft smile on her face. "I guess he thought that you would try to kill me or something stupid like that. Then he could save me, and hold it over my head for the next twenty years."

"Well, I will see you soon, Anders," Marian waved good-bye to Anders and left the clinic.

Anders was not sure what had just happened, but the mage was sure that Marian trusted him. Why she would, he had no idea. One thing was certain though; Anders would look forward to her next visit.


	6. Chapter 5: A Meeting with Anso

"Are you sure about this?" Anso asked Fenris his voice shaking in fear.

The elf sighed. If Fenris had more coin, he would have found someone who would be of more help. Anso would not have been that bad, if the dwarf didn't keep worrying about falling into the sky. His large dark eyes kept looking at the sky as though it was something evil. _Are all dwarfs like this?_ He wondered.

The Lowtown streets were deserted save for the two of them. The light from the full moon in the middle of the sky was the only thing illuminating the area. The tall, dilapidated buildings boxing them in, and there was only one way in or out of the street with a small hidden alleyway that was nearly impossible to see unless one knew where to look.

"Yes," Fenris gave Anso a menacing look. "Just make sure that you tell her exactly what I told you."

Anso gulped and nodded. "I will."

Anso had sent the message to Hawke asking for her help yesterday and meet the dwarf tonight. From what Fenris had heard about her, the elf was quite sure that she would come. The dwarf just had to tell her exactly what the elf had told him to, and there was no doubt she wouldn't help. If everything worked out according to his plan, Fenris would not only discover part of his lost past, but also Danaris would die before the night was out.

A small smile slowly formed on Fenris's face. At long last, Fenris would crush the heart of that bastard, and he would be free. The very thought almost made him laugh out loud, almost.

Fenris hid himself in a nearby alleyway, knowing that Hawke would arrive at any moment. Ever sense he tested Marian, the elf had worked out this meeting to the last detail. This street was chosen mostly because of the alley he was hiding in. Fenris would be able to see everything that was going on in the street without Hawke, or anyone she brought with her, being able to see him. The last thing that he needed was for something to go wrong.

A few moments later, Marian entered the street eyeing the area carefully as if expecting a trap. She was followed by her brother, the dwarf, and a blonde haired man. Fenris did not like the blonde haired man. Just by looking at him, Fenris knew that the man was a mage. _Venhedis! Fasta vass!_ Fenris inwardly cursed. A mage meant that his plan was going so very wrong.

"Wait," Marian held up her hand and looked right where Fenris was hiding.

"What is it, Hawke?" The dwarf asked. Varric was his name if Fenris's memory served him.

"Nothing," Marian said, still looking at the alley. "Just a funny feeling."

Marian walked over to Anso, who was looking away from the entrance to the small street. "Are you Anso?"

"Ahh," Anso jumped in shock. "By the stone human, don't sneak up on people like that!"

"Sorry, but your note told me to meet you here," Marian calmly stated in a soothing voice.

"Are you the one the smuggler told me about?" Anso questioned, sticking to what Fenris told him to say. "The one looking for work."

"I've done some smuggling for a time," The look on her face told Fenris that she was not necessarily proud of it.

"Well, my apologies, human," Anso replied.

"Marian or Hawke please," The woman requested.

"Hawke," Anso nodded. "I haven't been on the surface for very long, and I keep thinking that I'll fall into that big sky up there."

"Bartrand used to be like that," Varric said with a small giggle. "Got jumpy every time he stepped outside."

"I'd pay to see that," Marian's brother, whose named escaped Fenris, replied.

"Can we get back to the matter at hand, boys?" Marian asked, with a small hint of harshness in her tone of voice. "Or are we just going to talk all night."

"Is something wrong Hawke?" The blonde haired mage gave Marian a worried look.

"There is nothing wrong, Anders," Marian looked at Fenris's hiding place again.

Fenris shivered. It was almost as if she knew that he was hiding there, but that was impossible. From where she was standing, there was no way for her to see him.

Marian turned back to Anso. "You were saying, Anso?"

"Well some product of mine got…misplaced," Anso gulped. "The men who were supposed to deliver it decided not to. If you retrieve my property, I can reward you handsomely."

"What did they steal?" Marian questioned.

"Did I say steal?" Anso shrugged his shoulders. Panic started to show on his face. "I wouldn't go that far. They seemed like perfectly reasonable smugglers. They… smiled and everything. But the goods are valuable, however, and illegal. And my client wants them very, very badly. You know how these Templars are…"

"Your smuggling lyrium to the Templars," Marian said it as a statement not a question.

"Fuck!" Marian's brother cursed. "This is just the last thing we need! More Templar trouble!"

"Carver, hush!" Marian hissed.

"Yes, please" Anso pleaded. "The gentlemen conduct their businesses in a tiny shack in the Alienage at night. I am sure that they will be reasonable."

"We'll be back with your goods before the night is out," Marian stated with one last quick glance at the alley. "But if this is some sort of trap, I would advise fleeing Kirkwall now."

With that, they left the street. Anso left almost right after them. Fenris waited for a few moments before leaving the alley. _Did she really know I was hiding here?_ Fenris thought feeling as though that last thing she said was directed more at him than Anso. The elf finally decided that it didn't matter, but Fenris would make a point of killing asking Marian, if she would be able to survive Danaris's trap that is.


	7. Chapter 6: Bait and Switch

Fenris thought about following right behind Hawke and her companions, but those last words that Marian had said to Anso made the elf feel uneasy. Fenris knew that there was no way that she knew he was hiding in the alley. Hawke's actions, however, gave the elf reason to pause. It was almost like she was waiting for Fenris to do something, but he really could not be too sure.

So instead, the elf chose to keep on the fringes of the Alienage. Mostly to make sure that there would not be any damn slavers ready to attack Hawke and the others once they had dealt with the main group in the Alienage. The buildings around the Alienage were mostly warehouses which would be very good places to hide a small number of heavily armed soldiers. All of them had bits of crumbling plaster falling off of them revealing large brown bricks.

"How long do we have to wait here?" questioned a gravelly voice from the warehouse to the elf's right.

"Until the captain calls us to help him kill that fucking slave," answered another voice, a female one this time. "He should be leaving the shack in the Alienage about now."

Fenris slowly walked over to a nearby window, taking great care not be seen by anyone who was inside. He did not need to look inside to know that these were with the same group who were trying to take him back to Danarius. Still, it would not hurt for him to carefully take a quick look inside, to see how many he would have to kill if nothing else. Taking great care not to be seen, Fenris took a glance in the window to see roughly fifteen; heavily armed Tevinter soldiers were waiting in the warehouse. By the insignia on their armor, Fenris knew that these were highly trained and elite fighter.

_So, Danarius has sent proper soldiers this time._ Fenris thought, sneaking away from the window. _He must be more despite than I thought._ This was not what Fenris was expecting this. All of the other times the elf had been attacked, they were just thugs or slave hunters, not highly trained troops. The elf grabbed his two-handed sword, which hung loosely on his back, and quietly sneaked over to the only door. If there had been more than fifteen, the elf would have been in trouble, but, as long as he had the element of surprise, Fenris would not have too much trouble.

Once at the door, Fenris drew his blade, took a deep breath, and kicked the door open. The Tevinter forces were caught completely unaware making them easy prey for the elf. While they were scrabbling for their weapons, Fenris's lyrium markings glowing brightly as the elf cut through the fools. The elf darted back and forth while removing the limbs of several soldiers before any of them were even able to put up much of a fight.

Fenris was about to finish the last one of them off, when a male voice shouting, "Lieutenant, I want everyone in the clearing now!"

The last soldier ran out of the warehouse with a heavy trail of blood following behind him. _That one will be dead before he gets to the clearing._ The elf thought with a small smile on his face.

"Captain…" Fenris heard the weakened voice of his foe weeze.

Fenris walked out of the warehouse to the clearing just in time to watch the man fall down dead. He looked around the clearing trying his best to hide his shock. The clearing was covered with bodies of Tevinter troops, and at least four mages. In the middle of it all, Marian and her friends stood near the last living Tevinter standing in the clearing without a scratch on them.

"Your men are dead," Fenris said, walking slowly down the stairs and past the soldier. "And your trap has failed. I suggest running back to your mast now while you can."

"You are going nowhere, slave!" The last Tevinter ordered, grabbing the elf's arm.

His touch caused the lyrium to glow, and a stab of pain shot though Frenis's arm. Without thinking, Fenris turned to face the man and thrust his glowing arm into the man's chest.

"I am not a slave!" Fenris spat while crushing the bastard's heart.

Fenris allowed the slaver's lifeless body to fall to the ground with a thud. _And I never will be a slave again!_ The elf finished his head.

Fenris turned to face Hawke and her friends. "I apologize."

"For what?" Marian asked walking toward Fenris, "Having Anso send us into a death trap, or not saying hello while you were hiding in the alley?"

_She did know I was hiding there!_ Fenris cleared his throat and did his best not to act surprised. "I asked Anso to provide a distraction from the hunters. I had no idea that they would be so numerous."

"Only a distraction, I feel a little insulted," Marian retorted with a cocky, lipped smile on her face. "But, it appears we're unscathed."

"Impressive," the elf stated, which was really what he thought. "You are as good as the rumors claim."

"Don't put much stock in those rumors, if I were you sir," Hawke said with an off handed wave. "They are all slanderous lies. But would it be alright to ask for your name?"

"My name is Fenris," The elf looked that the nearest Tevinter body. "These men were Imperial bounty hunters, seeking to recover a magister's lost property, namely myself."

Fenris looked back at Marian. "They were trying to lure me into the open. Crude as their methods were, I could not face them alone. Thankfully Anso chose wisely."

"This is a lot of effort to find only one, escaped slave." Marian pointed to the several bodies behind her.

"It is," Fenris agreed.

"Does this have something to do with those markings?" she questioned, glancing at the visible marks on skin. 

"Yes," Fenris half laughed. "I imagine that I must look strange to you."

"Believe me," A small private smile briefly appeared on Hawke's face. "I have seen stranger things."

"Well I did not receive these markings by choice," the elf sighed. "Even so, they have severed me well. Without them, I would still be a slave."

"You know, instead of setting all of this up, you could have just asked for help," Marian stated, taking in what was happening very well in Fenris's eyes. "But that is neither here nor there. If these men were really trying to recapture you, then I am happy I helped."

Fenris was slightly taken aback by her words. "I have met few in my travels who have sought anything more than personal gain. If I may ask, what was in the chest? The one they kept in the house?"

"It was empty," the dwarf answered before Hawke.

"I suppose it was too much to hope for…" The elf said, more to himself than the others. "Even so, I had to know."

"What did you think was in it?" Hawke asked.

"I was," Fenris replied. "But I shouldn't have. It was bait, nothing more."

"All that for an empty chest," Marian laughed.

"No," Fenris thought of Danarius. "There's more."

Before any of the four could question him, Fenris walked over to the body of the captain and starting going through the pouches on his belt. After a few seconds of searching, the elf found a small slip of paper that was signed by his former master. Even better, the paper told where in Kirkwall Danarius was hiding!

"It's as I thought!" Fenris stood up. "My former master accompanied them to the city. I know you have questions, but I must confront him before he leaves."

"I will need your help," Fenris said looking at Marian.

"Good to know you've learned how to ask for help," she replied, "But it sounds like you intend to do than just talk."

"Danarius," Fenris almost spat out the name. "Wants to strip the flesh from my bones, and has sent so many hunters that I have lost count. And before that he kept me on a leash like a Qunari mage; a personal pet to mock Qunari custom."

"Ouch!" Fenris saw the blonde mage grimace.

"So, yes," Fenris gritted his teeth. "I intend to do more than just talk."

"Let's go kill some assholes then," Marian drew her blade from her belt with a predatory smile on her face.

"The magister is staying at an estate in Hightown," Fenris said as the group left the Alienage. "We must hurry and enter before morning."


	8. Chapter 7: Danarius's Mansion

"This Danarius is a mage, right?" Marian asked Fenris when the group entered Hightown's housing district.

Fenris could not understand why Hawke would feel the need to ask such a question. There hadn't been any words spoken between any of the five since they left Lowtown with Fenris leading the way. To be honest, Fenris had enjoyed the silence. It allowed his mind to imagine all of the ways things he would do to the magister before he killed him.

"All magisters are," Fenris answered, giving her a sideways glance.

"All I needed to know," she said, taking care not to look at him directly.

For a brief second, the elf thought that he saw Hawke's turn a darker color. Fenris blinked, and her eyes were back to crystal blue. Shaking his head, he put his mind back to killing Danrius.

"How much further is this guy's house?" Carver, who was standing right behind the elf, demanded.

"It is just around this corner," Fenris was starting to find Hawke's brother very annoying.

Once they rounded the corner, a large, three story mansion was revealed. Marble pillars held up several large balconies and were carved to look like serpents were slithering up them. Tevinter flags hung from the railings around each balcony. There were only a few windows, but they were so large that building only needed a small number. Gold leaf was placed around the front door frame which matched the brightly painted plaster. There were no visible lights that could be seen from the street.

"Wow, subtle," Varric said.

"Danarius may know that we are here," Fenris gave the mansion a spiteful look. "I wouldn't put it past him."

"There may also be some magical defenses," Anders suggested.

"They will not keep me from him," the elf growled.

"Don't worry, boys," Marian walked over to the house. "I doubt that we will have too much trouble."

Anders was not so sure. The mage did not know much about Tevinter mages, but the things he did learn in his years in the Circle were not pleasant. If even half of them were true, Anders was certain that this was not going to be a long fight. The slavers in the Alienage were hard enough to deal with.

_But why didn't Marian use her magic?_ Anders found himself wondering while remembering her using her dagger to slice open the throats of the troops. Hawke was open with him about being one, but Anders had yet to see her use her Maker given power. It would have made the fight go a lot easier.

His unease about the situation could have also been due to the elf. The mage did find his appearance strange with pure white hair and pale markings, but that was no what was putting him off. It was the looks that Fenris gave him when the elf thought Anders wasn't looking. His green eyes scowled at him the same way that they did when he killed the Tevinter in front of them.

"Varric," Marian called to the dwarf, breaking the mage out of his train of thought. "Would you be so kind to make sure that this door isn't locked or booby-trapped."

"Sure, Hawke," The dwarf walked over to the door.

Anders could not see what Varric's hands, but after a few seconds, the silence was broken with a sound of the door opening. Out of the corner of his eye, Anders saw whisper something to Carver. The mage could not hear what was said, even if they were standing just a foot away from him, but Hawke's brother nodded.

The elf was about to walk in the building when Marian gestured for him to stop. "I'll go in first."

Before the white haired man could protest, she marched inside. The others followed behind with Carver entering last. Once inside, Anders felt the air in the building get heavy; the mage felt like he had to almost gasp for air.

"_Something is wrong…"_ Justice's voice warned.

Fenris's markings started to feel strange the moment he followed Hawke in the building. It was almost like tiny creatures were crawling all over his body. Also, the very air felt heavy making it hard to breathe. The elf had been exposed to many types of different magics, but he had never been around anything that felt like this. _Danarius, what are you planning?_ The elf thought, drawing his blade.

"Does anyone besides me find it hard to breathe in here?" Varric asked, obviously feeling uncomfortable.

"I don't feel anything weird at all," Carver quickly answered, a little too quickly to Fenris.

"Me neither," Marian agreed, her voice sounding slightly deeper to the elf then it had been before. Her small cocky smile had completely vanished. "It is probably nothing."

"No," Anders disagreed, "There is something off."

"Then let's kill the bastard, quickly," The elf walked toward the door.

"Wait!" Marian's voice commanded, just before Fenris tried to open the door. "Stay away from that door!"

Fenris found himself doing what she said. The elf turned to face Hawke, but she brushed past him and stood in front of the door.

"You all may want to stand back," Marian placed her hand on the middle of the door. "And get your weapons ready."

Before anyone was able to say a word, the door flew off its hinges with a **BOOM!** The door slammed into two explosive traps which set the door on fire. A blast of ice shot out of Hawke's hand and put out the flames. _Maker! She's a mage!_ The realization hit the elf like a punch to the face. Suddenly, ten shades poured into the room before Fenris was able to fully grasp the idea of Hawke being a mage. The demons dark, semi physical floated in the room like fast moving storm clouds. Marian did a quick hand gesture, and all of the demons were pushed back through the door with another **BOOM!**

"Hurry," Hawke drew her dagger and walked into the next room. "They won't stay down for long!"

The elf ran into the room with the others following right behind him. All of the shades were on the ground apparently stunned. Hawke was leaning against the wall next to the door, breathing heavily. A tiny bit of blood could be seen coming out of her nose.

Varric looked at Marian with a concerned look on his face. "Hawke…"

"I'm fine," Marian wiped the blood from her nose. "But, the shades will…"

Before she could finish, the shades started to get up.

"Of course," Hawke sighed.

Carver started cutting through the shades with Varric and Fenris joining the fray. The dwarf's crossbow bolts flew around the room with the two fighter's swords slicing the limbs off of the demons. Anders, on the other hand, was more concerned with Hawke than the shades. Her breathing was not as heavy as before and the bleeding had stopped, but Marian still kept out of the fighting, allowing the others to kill the shades.

"He sends spirits to do his fighting for him!" Fenris said once all of the shades were dead. "Danarius! Can you hear me? Your pets can not stop us!"

Anders was taken shocked that the elf was thinking more of revenge than Marian's health. The mage was about to do a quick healing spell on her, even if Anders wasn't sure what was wrong with her, but Hawke walked over to the next door. Anders did notice, however, that Carver was giving her a small worried glance.

"What type of mage was that?" Varric asked.

"Force magic," Marian placed her hand on the door just like last time. "It works great on people, but not very well on demons, regrettably."

"_She's lying!" _Justice's voice stated. _"Her magic is causing the heaviness in the air!"_

Anders was inclined to agree with Justice. The mage knew a fair bit about Force Mages; he knew a few in Kirkwall in fact. (Then again Kirkwall had a large number of Force Mages.) Force magic could explain how she blew the door down, but that type of magic could only work on physical beings or objects. Shades did not have a pure physical form, making them immune to a Force Mage's spells. Most importantly, Force magic did not cause anything to happen to the one who cast the spell. _How could cause the heaviness in the air though…_ The mage wondered.

Instead of blasting the door with magic, Marian opened it the normal way. "There is nothing in this room."

"Danarius's room is this way," Fenris walked past Hawke.

Fenris led them to a grand room with a staircase which Anders assumed led to the upper floors of the house. Above the stairs, there were small lamps which were the only light sources in the room. They went up the stairs to the first landing. _I wonder if the elf has been here before._ Anders thought as the group went to the room at the end of the hall.

"Is this his room?" Hawke question, once they were in front of the door.

Marian placed her hand on the door. **Boom!** The door was blown off its hinges. However, the room was empty.

"Oh SHIT!" Marian turned around. "More demons!"

Anders turned around and saw two rage demons and an arcane horror trapping them. _This is really bad…_ Anders thought as Carver charged at the arcane horror. The arcane horror shot a fireball at the boy which blasted him against the wall.

"CARVER!" Marian shouted as her brother's unconscious body hit the ground.

**BOOM!** All three of the demons were pinned to the floor. Anders looked at Marian, whose face was hard and boiling with anger.

"**You hurt my** **BROTHER**!" Marian walked over to the demons.

Hawke flicked her wrist and dozens of large, ice spikes impaled the creatures killing them. Another flick of the wrist and the spikes shattered and melted. The heaviness in the air had completely vanished.

"Anders," Marian said, turning to the mage. "Check on Carver."

Anders ran over to Carver and placed his hand on his wound. The wound was not deep, and there was little damage to his internal organs.

"Is he going to be alright?" Marian asked sitting down next to them.

"He'll be fine," Anders looked up at Hawke. "But he may have a headache for the next few days."

"Thank the Maker," Marian breathed, a smile reappearing on her face.

While the blonde hair mage finished healing Carver, Fenris looked around his former master's room. Everything that could have quickly been packed had been taken. The elf cursed inwardly. Danarius was gone.

"Gone," The elf sated after a few moments of silence. "I had hoped… no, it doesn't matter any longer."

Fenris turned to Marian, who had walked up to him after the other mage had healed her brother. "I assume Danarius left valuables behind. Take them if you wish. I… need some air."

With that, the elf walked out of the mansion. Fenris could not help, but feel disheartened. This was his best chance for vengeance, and it was now gone. To top it all off, he found himself in the company of _two_ mages. Two! Fenris leaned against the closest pillar to the front door when the others walked out of the building.

"It never ends," The elf sighed not sure if he was talking to Hawke or himself. "I escaped a land of dark magic, only to have it hunt me at every turn. It is a plague burned into my flesh and my soul."

"And now I find myself in the company of yet another mage." Fenris turned to Marian. "I saw you casting spells inside."

"Damn, there goes my damn of becoming a traveling minstrel," Hawke retorted, that small cocky smile back on her face.

Fenris ignored her comment. "I should have realized sooner what you really were. Tell me, then; what manner of mage are you? What is it that you seek?"

Marian thought for a moment. "Why should I tell you and spoil all of the fun?"

"You are skilled," The elf answered, "I know that much."

Carver glared at Fenris. "If you have a problem with my sister, you have a problem with me."

"Calm down, Carver," Hawke said, "You just got healed, no need to get your ass kicked again."

"I did not get my ass kicked!" Carver snapped.

"Besides," Marian continued, pretending not to have heard him. "I am sure that he has his reasons."

"Maybe," Anders stated, "But that is no reason to hate mages."

"I imagine I appear ungrateful," Fenris walked over to Marian. "If so, I apologize, for nothing can be further from the truth. I did not find Danarius, but I still owe you a debt."

"Here is all of the coin I have, as Anso promised," The elf handed Marian four sovereigns. "Should you find yourself in need of assistance, I would gladly render it"

Marian crossed her arms. "You didn't seem all that thrilled with me a moment age."

"You are not Danarius," Fenris was quite sure that she was different from his former mast. "Whether you are anything like him remains to be seen."

"Your old master must want something more than just a runway slave." Marian said. "I assume that your markings are what he is really after."

Fenris was shocked at her insight. "Yes, they are lyrium burned into my flesh to provide the power that Danarius required of his pet. And now he wishes his precious investment returned, even if he must rip it from my corpse."

Marian's cocky smile got a little larger. "Seems like a waste of a perfectly handsome elf."

Fenris suddenly felt very anxious. The elf was not sure if it was the smile or what she had said, but he now felt very uneasy. Fenris let out a small, awkward laugh.

"The truth is that I know nothing of the ritual that placed these markings on me," The elf stated truthfully. "It was Danarius's choice, one he now regrets."

"If you really want to help," Marian gestured to the others. "We are planning an expedition that we might need help with."

"Fair enough," Fenris walked over to the door of the mansion. "Should you ever have need of me, I will be here. If Danarius wishes his mansion back, he is free to return and claim it."

"Beyond that," Fenris turned to look back at Hawke. "I am at your disposal."


	9. Chapter 8: Wine and Rain

_"That's it, little wolf," Hadriana smiled while holding the glass of water just out of Fenris's reach. "Beg for it like a dog!"_

_ The two of them were in the tiny cell that was the elf's room. The only source of light was the torch held by another slave standing next to his master's apprentice. Fenris was chained to one of walls by his leash in such a way that he could not get close to her. He hadn't had anything to eat or drink for two days. _

_ "Please mistress," Fenris would have tried to reach for the glass, but he knew that if he did Hadriana would drink it in front of him. "I am so thirsty."_

_Hadriana turned the glass upside down, letting the water spill onto the stone floor. "Woops, I spilled it."_

_Hadriana laughed at him._

Fenris woke up with a start, his body covered in cold sweat, the sound of Hadriana's laughter still ringing in his ears. It took the elf a few moments to remember that he was not a slave in Tevinter anymore.

Fenris was sleeping on the floor in one of the many guest rooms in Danarius mansion, or that was what the room was meant to be. In reality, the elf knew that this was the rooms where his former master would _detain_ women that had caught his fancy, whether they wanted to spend time with him or not. There was no bed in the room and very little other furniture. There were just two wooden benches, a yellow cabinet, a large chest, and a small bookshelf in the room. There were neither any decoration on the walls nor was there carpet on the floor. A large fireplace dominated the eastern wall and the opposite wall had a single tiny window. For some odd reason, there was a lute leaning against one of the benches, which was odd considering Danarius hated the sound of a lute.

The elf stood up and walked over to the cabinet where he stashed a few bottles of wine. The previous night, he had brought up four of the ten bottles of Agreffio Pavali from the cellar. Mostly because he knew that his hated former master loved the taste of this brand of wine more than anything, and that each bottle cost over a thousand sovereigns. (The thought of hurting Danarius in two different ways brought a smile to his face.) Fenris grabbed the closest bottle and sat down on one of the benches.

Outside the tiny window, Fenris could see a strong rain storm raging. The rain was coming down so think that he was unable to see anything else. _It looks like I won't be going anywhere for a while._ The elf thought, opening the bottle.

Fenris was not sure how much time had passed, but he did almost finish the bottle, when he heard a load knock on the front door. _Maker, who would be coming to an abandoned house in weather this bad?_ The elf wondered walking down the stairs, his sword in hand.

As soon as he was at the door, Hawke's voice screamed, "Let me in, Fenris! I'm getting soaked!"

"Hawke?" Fenris opened the door, surprised.

Marian ran inside the door, a grey cloak trailing behind her.

"Thanks," Marian said while placing a basket she was caring on the floor. "Andraste's flaming sword, I am drenched."

"Yes, you are," Fenris agreed, thinking that Marian looked more like a drowned cat than a person. "What is with the basket?"

"A few supplies that I could scrounge up," Marian took off her wet cloak. "I was not sure if you had food, injury kits, and stuff like that."

Fenris laughed. "You could have waited until the rain stopped."

"I had something I needed to get done in Hightown today anyway." Marian pulled off her boots and pour out the water that was inside them. "So I thought that I might as well kill two birds with one stone."

"Would you like to stay here until the rain stops?" Fenris found himself asking. It must have been the wine talking.

"I was going to anyway," Marian stood up with her boots in one arm and her cloak in the other. "Should I leave the basket here?"

"No," Fenris grabbed the basket. "I'll take care of it."

Fenris was not sure what he was thinking while he led the way to the room he had woken up in. Hawke was a mage, and mages were dangerous. _But she seems different…_ The elf thought thinking about how she was willing to brave weather like this just to give him supplies.

"Thank the Maker," Marian stated, once she saw the raging fire in the fireplace in Fenris's room.

Marian placed her cloak and shoes near the fire to dry and sat on one of the benches.

"What are you drinking?" Marian asked, pointing at the bottle in his hand.

"Agreggio Pavali," Fenris said, placing the basket on the other bench. "There are six bottles in the cellar. Danarius used to have me pour it for his guests. My appearance intimidated them, he said, which he enjoyed."

"I can't imagine why they'd be put off," Marian smiled at him.

"You say what's on your mind. I'll give you that." Fenris drank some more of the wine.

Fenris threw the bottle at the wall and watched it shatter. The red colored wine stained the wall. To his surprise, Hawke looked at him, unfazed by his actions.

The elf turned back to his guest. "It's good to know that I can still take pleasure in the small things."

"You could have offered me a glass first, you know," Hawke stated with a small laugh.

"There's more if you're really interested," Fenris pointed to the yellow cabinet.

"Parish the thought," Marian said with a small wave of her hand. "How else would redecorate the walls?"

Fenris laughed.

"I've wanted to leave my past behind me. But it won't stay there." Fenris sat down next to the basket. "Tell me, have you ever wanted to return to Ferelden?"

"I grew up in Ferelden," Hawke answered, her smile fading. "It will always be my home."

"The Blight is over. You could rebuild what you lost," The elf looked at Hawke. "Do you truly not want to?"

"My mother came from Kirkwall," Hawke answered. "Our heritage is here."

"Having a place you can put down roots." Fenris found himself feeling a bit of envy. "I understand. Still, to have the option…must be gratifying."

"It should be…" Marian's voice trailed off.

"Do you intend to keep living here?" Marian asked, changing the subject.

"I haven't decided." The elf shrugged. "For now it is as good as any other place. I would return to Seheron if I could, but…"

The memory of the dead Fog Warriors around him washed upon him. Men, women, and children corpses positioned around him. Their blood was covering his hands and Danarius giving him praise.

Fenris shook his head, pushing the memory away. "There is no life for me there."

"Is that where you are from?" Hawke questioned.

"So I've been told," he lied.

"Were you very young when you left then?" Marian pressed.

"Perhaps," Fenris flatly stated in a tone to let her know that he did not want to talk about it anymore.

"You could track your former master down, I assume," Hawke asked, getting the hint.

"I imagine he has returned to Minrathous, though I dare not go near the city while he is alive." The thought of him being so far away made the elf's blood boil with anger. "No, it is better to wait for him to leave his fortress. Fight from a fortified position. I do not expect your help when that day comes, but I would not turn it aside."

"I see no reason why I could not be persuaded to," Marian said, checking on how her cloak was drying. "So you've been on the run for a long time then?"

"Three years now," Even thought it has only felt like a few days to Fenris. "Danarius has a way of finding me."

"Perhaps it is the markings…" Fenris looked at his markings and then back at Hawke. "Whatever the means, it never takes him long to follow. This is the first time I've given him reason to pause. I suppose there are advantages in numbers."

"I assume that you have sought help before," Marian sat back down.

"Hirelings, when I could steal the coin. Never anyone of substance…" Before he could stop himself Fenris added. "Until you."

_Maker, why did I say that?_ The elf asked himself. _She is a mage!_

"Danarius will not give up, however," Fenris quickly said, hoping that Hawke did not catch the last part of his previous statement. "I await his return."

"What if he does give up?" Marian questioned. "What then?"

"Then I go to him," Fenris said though gritted teeth. "I will not life with a wolf at my back."

"Sounds like the right idea to me," Marian smiled with a cocky, lipped smile. "Wolves tend to attack from behind, or so I've been told."

"If it comes to that," Fenris stated. "I doubt it will."

"Maybe it's just me, but it sounds like you want to stick around," Marian replied.

"I could see myself staying," Fenris then blurted out. "For the right reasons."

The elf was starting to really regret drinking all of that wine. It was making say foolish things to a woman that he should not ever completely trust.

"I should thank you again for helping me with the hunters," Fenris said after a short silence.

"Yes," Marian agreed, "You should."

"Had I known Anso would find me a woman so capable," The words had come out of his mouth before Fenris could stop them. "I might have asked him to look sooner."

"You sound like you're about to ask for a lone," Hawke joked.

Fenris shrugged. "Well this mansion does require some upkeep."

Marian looked out of the tiny window. "Looks like the rain has stopped, and my cape and boots are dry."

"I guess you will be leaving then?" Fenris asked.

"I said that I would," Marian put her shoes on. "I will visit again sometime."

"Then perhaps I'll practice my flattery for your next visit?" The elf found himself asking. He had definitely drunk too much wine. "With any luck, I'll become better at it."

"I found that you did a pretty good job today," Marian said while leaving the room. "Good-day."

Fenris suddenly felt very awkward.


	10. Chapter 9: A Meeting at the Hanged Man

_Writer's Note: I am sorry that this chapter is not as long or as well written as the ones before, but today has been really crazy for me. I am working on the next chapter now, and it will be uploaded later tonight._

"Sister, no!" Carver was shouting when Anders entered Varric's room at the Hanged Man.

Like all rooms in the tavern, it had wooden floors and walls which appeared to have not been cleaned in decades. Unlike the other rooms the mage had seen; however, all of the furniture in the room was dwarf made, from the large stone table, which was too low for a human to put their legs under, to the run covered, platform bed. Marian, Carver, Aveline, and Varric were sitting in the chair around the table. The three humans had to have their legs to the side of the chairs. Varric was sitting at the other end of the table with his crossbow hanging on the chair behind him, watching the humans talking.

Aveline nodded. "I agree. You shouldn't do this alone."

"I'm the one who made the promise, so I'm the one who will deliver the amulet," Marian said. "Besides, when has something so simple ever gone wrong?"

"I can think of more than twenty!" Carver gave Hawke a harsh look.

"Well that is neither here nor there," Marian gave her brother a dismissive wave. "Besides, I was drunk most of those times."

"What are they talking about?" Anders asked Varric while taking a seat next to the dwarf.

"When I figure it out I'll tell you, Blondie," The dwarf answered. "They have been arguing since they got here. But I have been able to discern a few things from what they have said. Apparently, the woman who saved them all from the Blight in Lothering asked them to deliver an amulet to some Dalish. A group of Dalish elves has arrived to Soundermount a few days ago, and Marian wants to go see them by herself and deliver the necklace. As you can see, Junior and Aveline are not too keen on her going alone."

"How do they even know if these are right Dalish?" Anders had thought that they were having a meeting about their upcoming Deep Roads expedition.

Varric shrugged. "Don't know."

At that moment, Fenirs walked into the room. Upon seeing Anders, the elf gave the blonde mage a spiteful glare, a glare the mage returned. The two men had only known each other for four days, but that was all it took for them to mutually agree that they hated each other. The white haired elf had made it well and clear that he believed that magic was evil, and Anders had made it a point to say that Fenris was wrong.

"What are they arguing about?" Fenris asked the dwarf while he sat down in the chair furthest from Anders.

Before Varric could answer him, Hawke threw up her hands in defeat. "Fine, we'll go together as soon as we are done here. Can we please get to the business at hand?"

"Good!" Carver flatly stated.

"Well, Varric," Marian turned to the dwarf. "How much more coin do we need to make and how long do we have to get it."

"We still need to come up with forty sovereigns, and Bartrand wants to leave in two months time," The dwarf answered, "Which means we will be heading to the Deep Roads in about three months, give or take ten days."

"Oh great, that's plenty of time to get so much coin," Carver said, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

Fenris was inclined to agree with Hawke's brother. The elf may have found him incredibly annoying, but Carver had a point. No matter how one looked at it, there was little chance for them to get the money in time. They could resort to stealing of course, but, in the few days he had known Hawke, he knew that Marian would not resort to that.

"We'll have to work hard then," Hawke stood up. "But it will have to wait until after me, Carver, and Aveline fulfill a promise."

"It might be a good idea for them to come with us, Hawke," Aveline suggested, a worried look on her face. "We have no idea what we are going to be facing."

"You know what, I've stopped caring." Marian sighed. "All those who want to come are welcome to."


	11. Chapter 10: Meeting the Keeper

Sundermount was a larger than Fenris had thought. (Then again, he had only seen it when he had arrived at the docks in Kirkwall.) The elf could not help but marvel at the large mountain whose highest peak was hidden by puffy grey clouds. In Tevinter, there were no large mountains save for the far South, where Danarius had never taken him. The crag was covered with small pine forests and granite cliffs with a handful of paths separating them. _The mountain side almost looks like the face of a man._ He mused.

"Do we have to climb all the way up?" Carver whined, bringing the elf out of his thoughts.

"I doubt it," Marian said as she started walking on the closest path up the summit. "I doubt that the Dalish would have their camp at the top."

The elf sighed. The entire group had chosen to go with Hawke to give this woman, Marethari, some sort of necklace. Hawke lead the way with Aveline and Carver following right behind her. Fenris was slightly to the right of the group, because he wanted to keep Anders in his line of vision. Varric took the rear.

"This outdoors thing is growing on me, like a tumor." Varric grumbled, his eyes gazing upward. "We dwarfs are not built for scaling mountain sides."

"At least there will be a nice view," Marian retorted, her cocky smile beaming like the sun.

"Does anything ever bother you, Hawke?" Fenris found himself asking.

"Only my brother and assholes," Marian hopped over a small log.

"Hey!" Carver shouted, while Anders and Aveline started laughing.

The elf heard a small chuckle come out of his mouth. Hawke was undoubtedly the strangest person he had ever met. _To think that she wanted to do this task alone._ Fenris thought. Whoever had saved her in Lothering, must have been a great person for her to be willing to go through all of this trouble just to deliver a simple trinket.

"Don't worry everyone," Marian said. "I am sure that we'll meet the elves well before we get to far up the mountain."

They had been climbing for several hours when Anders got the feeling that he was being watched. Then again, it could have been because the mage was exhausted from climbing and the thinning air. The group had climbed half way up the mountain side, and there was still no sign of the Dalish. The trees were still plentiful, but at least there were no large boulders blocking their way.

"Looks like you were wrong, sister," Carver spat, the mage was really starting to find Carver's constant complaining annoying.

_Maker, how can those to be related?_ The blond haired mage found himself wondering.

"Don't worry, brother dear," Marian looked up the path. "I am sure we'll find the Dalish soon."

"You've found them, _Shemlen_," A male dark skinned elf in green armor stepped out of the trees. "Now you had better go back down the path. Your kind are not welcome among the Dalish."

All at once, ten armed elves jumped out from behind the trees surrounding them. Each elf wore the same green armor and had intricate red tattoos on their faces. Half were armed with bows and arrows, while the others had swords and shields. All of their weapons were pointed at them, ready to attack.

"We are not here to fight," Marian stepped forward to address the elf who had spoken to them. "I was given an amulet to give to some named Marethari."

"How do you know that name?" The first Dalish elf demanded.

"Wait," called one of the archers, who was a women with short, dark hair. "I think that this is the one the Keeper spoke of."

"A _Shemlen_!" The first elf looked at Hawke as though he had never seen a human before. "I thought they'd be an elf."

"Follow us to the camp," The dark haired female Dalish lowered her bow. "Keeper Marethari has been waiting for you."

"Cause trouble and you'll meet our blades, stranger," The first elf said.

"Thank you," Marian replied with a slight bow of her head.

The elves lead the group to a small clearing a few yards off the path where the Dalish had made their camp. Anders had never seen a Dalish camp before. There were a hand full of brightly painted carts with strange symbols on them which matched the patterns of the facial tattoos all of the elves in the camp, save for Fenris, had on their faces. Near the carts, was a small workbench or what the mage thought was a workbench, with three elves carving various things from wood. In the center of the camp was a large fire pit with an old, white haired elf standing next to it.

"That is the keeper," One of archers pointed to the old elf standing next to the fire.

Marian nodded and walked over to the old woman, everyone else following behind her. "Marethari."

The old woman turned to them.

"I was told to give you this amulet," Marian pulled the necklace out of her pocket.

"_Andaran atish'an_, traveler," Marethari took the amulet from Hawke. "Indeed I am Keeper Marethari."

"Let me look at you," The old elf gestured for Marian to come closer.

Hawke did as she was asked. The Keeper carefully looked at her with an intense gaze. _It is almost like she is trying to see into her soul._ The mage thought.

"There is truth in your face," The elf said, after a long silence. "And a light in your heart. A rare thing for a human. Don't lose it."

The old woman stepped away from Hawke. "Tell me, how this burden fell to you, child"

"The woman who sent me saved my family from the Blight," Marian answered. "In return I agreed to bring it to you, and I am a woman of my word."

"I honor you for coming to me," Marethari responded.

"How did you know I was coming?" Marian asked.

"I listen," the elf replied with a small smile. "The world can reveal much if one knows how to listen."

"But," the Keeper sighed. "I am afraid your part in this is not yet done. The amulet must be taken to an alter near the top of the mountain and given a Dalish rite for the departed."

The old woman handed the amulet back to Hawke. "Then return the amulet to me. Do this and you debt will be paid."

"Are you going to teach me this rite for the departed?" Marian questioned as she put the amulet back in her pocket.

"I will send my First with you," Marethari answered. "She will see to it the ritual is done. And, when it is complete, I must ask that you take her with you when you go."

"Who is your first? Hawke asked, confused. "First of what?"

"Your people would call her my apprentice or heir," the old elf clarified. "Marrill, would have taken my place as Keeper, but…she has chosen a new path. Please guide her safely from here."

"If that is what you want," Marian agreed.

"It is not what I want." A saddened look appeared on the old elf's face. "But what she wants."

"You will find her down the trial up the mountain over there." The Keeper pointed to a small trail just beyond the camp. "_Dareth shiral._"


	12. Chapter 11: Meeting Merrill

They had only just gotten the path the Keeper showed them when Anders heard a strange sound. It sounded like a gust of wind blowing threw over an empty bottle. The mage looked at the rest of the group, and by the looks of their faces Anders could tell that they heard it too.

"What was that?" Varric asked.

"I guess we'll find out," Marian said as the air suddenly felt very heavy, just like at the mansion.

Anders kept one eye of Hawke. Just like at the mansion, her cocky smile was gone, and Carver was giving her that same worried look when he thought that no one was looking. _There is something they are not telling us about Hawke's magic…_ Anders thought remembering how Justice reacted that night.

Once they rounded the corner, they saw an elfin woman sitting on the ground. Anders could not see her face, but he was able to see part of her tattoos. Her brown colored hair was short with every strand in a braid. Her clothing was similar to the Keeper's, but hers was a vibrant forest green. A staff, that looked just like the Keeper's, hung from a leather strap at was attached to the back of her clothes.

"Oh, I didn't hear," The elfin woman stood up and walked over to them. "You must be the ones the Keeper told me about. _Aneth ara._"

A panicked look suddenly appeared on the woman's tattooed face. "I'm so sorry. I didn't ask your name. Unless… it's not rude to ask a human their name, is it?"

"I'm Merrill." The woman did a small bow to everyone. "Which you probably already knew already, I rambling sorry."

"I am sorry to say," Marian said with a small laugh, "You'll have to work a lot harder than that to offend me. My name is Marian Hawke."

"Thank you," Merrill replied, relieved. "I'm afraid I'm not very experienced with your kind."

"Do you want to introduce yourselves or should I?" Hawke asked the rest of the group.

Everyone introduced themselves to Merrill while Marian stood a few feet away from the elf which Anders found strange, Although he did not know Hawke for very long, she was normally shaking hands with almost everyone they had met: elf, human, or dwarf. This just didn't seem like her.

"The Keeper said you came from Ferelden," Merrill stated. "I spent most of my life there. We only came north a little while ago. Are all of you from there?"

"Just me, my brother, Aveline, and Anders," Marian answered.

"Oh, have you been in the Free Marshes long?" The female questioned. "Do you like it here?"

"After a year of living there, I can say that it is a good place for a fresh start," Marian looked up the path.

"Really? I hope that you are right," Merrill said. "We should go your task is for _Asha'bellanar_. It's not wise to keep her waiting."

"Do you know the woman who sent us here?" Aveline asked.

"Not personally," Merrill admitted. "My people tell stories of her though. "You're very lucky. Most people who meet _Asha'bellanar_ wind up in little pieces…hanging from trees."

"Then let's get on with it then," Hawke started walking up the path.

"Well I hope that you brought confortable shoes it is a long walk," The Dalish elf started after Hawke. "But we need to be careful, there are dark things about."

"Of course!" Carver groaned, as they started walking up the mountain.

Fenris did not like the looks that Merrill was giving him. The elf had enough on his mind without the Dalish elf giving him strange looks. The air felt the same as Danarius's mansion had that night, and, just like before, his markings felt like something was crawling on his body. When he felt it before, the elf had assumed that it was the work of his former master, but now he was not sure.

"Why are you watching me like that?" Fenris finally asked Merrill.

"You have _vallaslin_." Merrill pointed at Fenris's markings. "The same markings the Dalish have. Are you…"

"I'm not Dalish!" he retorted. "Yours are not made of lyrium."

"No, they are made from blood. Our blood," Merrill said off handedly. "That's what _vallaslin_ means: blood writing. It's a mark of adulthood."

"Mine were carved into my flesh against my will, in a ritual." Fenris watched a look of horror appear on the girl's face. "I only remember it for the agony it caused me."

"I'm…so sorry," The Dalish elf gave him a pitiful look.

"I don't want your pity!" he snapped, hoping that would shut her up.

"Fenris," Marian gave him a small cocky smile. "Don't be so mean. How was Merrill to know considering she has only known us for a few minutes?"

Fenris looked away from Hawke, feeling very awkward.

Marian stopped and pulled out her dagger. "Son of a bitch!"

Suddenly, a three dozen zombie skeletons dug themselves out of the ground. Marian decapitated the closest one to her with her dagger in one motion and raised her arm at the rest of the undead creatures. **BANG!** All of them were knocked down by a burst of her magic. Unlike the demons at the mansion; however, the skeletons stood right back up, unharmed.

"Shit!" Carver attacked with Marian right next to him.

Aveline and Fenris quickly joined the fight with Varric's crossbow quickly shooting bolts past them. Anders and Merrill shot spells at the zombies while Fenris and Carver hacked the corpses with their large blades. Aveline was cutting through several of the creatures while Hawke attacked with both magic and her dagger. The male elf would have cursed his luck about being accompanied by _another_ mage, but several dozen more skeletons jumped out of the ground surrounding them. _We aren't going to be able to defeat them!_ Fenris thought.

"Everyone get down!" Varric shouted, raising his crossbow up in the air.

The group did as the dwarf ordered, and Varric fired a huge hail of arrows at them, shredding the skeletons into tiny pieces.

"Maker, Varric," Carver looked at the crossbow as if he had never seen one before. "What was that?"

"A reason one should never anger Bianca, Junior," Varric replied, lovingly stroking his weapon. "Regrettably, she won't be able to fire for at least an hour."

"Well, please thank her for saving our asses," Marian requested.

"The Keeper didn't say that you were a mage," Aveline said, giving Merrill a suspicious look.

"I imagine it's difficult to give away what no one wants," Fenris spat in a harsh tone.

"All Keepers know a bit of old magic," Merrill put her staff back on her back. "The stories tell us that all elvhen once had the gift, but like so many things it was lost. It's a Keepers job to remember, to restore what we can."

"Does the Chantry know about Dalish mages?" Anders questioned.

"Oh they know," Merrill gave a small shudder. "Keeper Marethari told me that was one of the reasons we never camped too long in one place. They usually won't pursue us if we stay away from the cities and towns and keep moving."

"You have no idea how good you have it," Anders gave Merrill a small smile.

"But the clan is in more danger, having lost our _halla_." A small tear ran down the Dalish mage's cheek.

"Can't demons possess Dalish mages?" Marian asked.

"It can happen." Merrill hung her head. "And when it does, the clan must hunt and kill their own Keeper."

"You do know that Kirkwall has among the highest number of Templars in the Free Marshes, and that they will label you as an apostate," Marian warned with a small shadow in her eyes. "And trust me they can be real assholes."

"I know," Merrill gulped. "But if I don't go to Kirkwall, I'll be alone. A solitary elf is easy prey for anyone. In the city I can get lost in the crowd."

"Well… um.. thanks for… pitching in back there," Carver stated, which was the first thing the elf had heard him say that wasn't a complaint.

"Oh! Your welcome," Merrill blushed. "I wasn't sure that I'd be much good. I've done a little fighting before, but it was always alone. I'll try not to hit anyone. On our side, I mean… I'm babbling again. Let's go."

As they started up the path again, Fenris could not help but give a Hawke a quick glance. The last time he had seen her use magic; Marian was tired and obviously weakened. (For some reason, he needed to make sure was fine this time.) Unlike last time, however, Hawke seemed fine, and Anders was whispering something to her…

"Are you alright?" asked Hawke in a hushed voice so no one else could hear.

"I'm fine, Anders," she replied, giving him a strange look. "And why are we whispering?"

"Marian, are you sure that you are okay?" Justice had told him during the fight that there was something wrong with Marian.

"I think Carver might find Merrill cute," Hawke gave her brother a very mischievous look. "He only ever talks that way whenever he finds a girl cute. I'll have to tease him about it later."

"Hawke," Anders started.

"Oh, look another Dalish!" Hawke pointed to a black haired, male elf standing in a small clearing not too far ahead, not allowing the mage to finish.

"So the Keeper finally found someone to take you from here," The male Dalish elf gave Merrill a spiteful look that Anders thought gave Fenris's hateful look a run for its money.

"Yes," Merrill did not look her fellow Dalish.

The black haired elf turned to Hawke. "Finish your task quickly human. We cannot be rid of this one too soon."

"I have made my choice," Merrill stated as the black haired elf went down the path toward the Dalish camp. "And I will save our clan, whatever you think."

"So…Sundermount looks very…mountainous today, doesn't it?" Carver said to Merrill after a short, but awkward silence. "Lots of rock…and hillside…and…"

"We should go," Merrill started to walk up the path toward the summit, not reacting to Carver's comment. "We will need to enter a cave a few more feet up the path in order to reach the top."

"Junior, you really need to practice on how to talk to women," Varric jokingly retorted, giving him a gentle slap on the back.

"It doesn't matter," Marian gave her brother that cocky smile of hers. "Carver has never been able to talk to women."

Carver shouted a few choice swear words at the two as the group once again started walking. Hawke was walking just far enough from Anders to keep him from whispering anything to her. Anders was no certain that there was something wrong with Hawke. Why she didn't want him to know, the mage had no idea. For the rest of the climb to the cave, Anders could not help but keep an eye on Hawke. The mage watched her beautiful rapier like form quickly catching up to Merrill. Anders shook his head. What was he thinking?

"I'm sorry," Merrill said once they got to the cave. "You are not really seeing the Dalish at their best. We're good people that look out for each other. Just not today, apparently."

"Is there anything I can do to help?" Marian asked.

"It's kind of you to ask." Merrill gave Hawke a small smile. "I'm fine. Even if my people don't appreciate my efforts, I must see this through. Let's go. _Asha'bellanar_ is not known for her patience."

With that they entered the cave.


	13. Chapter 12: Marian's Power

_Author's Note: Sorry for not being able to update much lately. I have been really busy. Hopefully, I'll be able to keep to at least one new chapter a day._

The cave was completely empty with the only source of light being the cave entrance. At least Fenris's markings weren't glowing, and the elf found that a pleasant thought.

"We don't have any torches do we?" Verric asked.

"Who said we needed them?" Bright blue fire appeared in Marian's left hand covering it like a glove.

The blue light seemed to fill every corner of the cave. The black and grey rocks looked like finely polished glass and reflected the light, and there were huge with stalactites and stalagmites which were three times the size of any of them. Besides the cave entrance, there were three other passages leading away from the room. All of them appeared to be going upward.

Marian turned to the female elf. "Which way do we go Merrill?"

"We are taking that path," Merrill pointed to the middle path. "We should be careful there are giant spiders that live in these caves."

"Giant spiders…" Aveline stopped dead in her tracks, a panicked look on her face.

"Yes, but they won't bother us," Merrill said, not noticing the warrior woman's obvious fear. "As long as we don't attack them, they'll leave us alone."

As they traveled down the path, Fenris could not help but notice the look Anders was giving Hawke. It was a look that Fenris had never seen before, and for some reason the way Anders was gazing at Marian frustrated him. The elf's mind filled with thoughts about what he and Marian could have been whispering about. He had no idea what they were talking about, but Marian had giggled and had given the blond haired mage a strange smile. _Maker, why is this irritating me so much? _ Fenris wondered.

"Elf," Verric's voice brought the elf out of his thoughts.

"Yes," Fenris turned to the dwarf, who was standing right next to him.

"Is something wrong?" Verric asked. "You're looking even more broody than usual."

"Nothing is wrong," Fenris looked back at Anders, trying to make it look like he was looking at the path ahead. "Nothing at all."

"How much longer until we reach the exit to the cave?" Aveline kept looking around as if something was going to attack at any moment.

"Not much longer now," Merrill answered. "We will walk into another large chamber just up ahead, then we take the far left passage, and after a few minutes, we'll be at the summit."

No sooner had Merrill finished talking, the path ended at another large cavern. Unlike the first one, this one was half as large with several bones covering the ground. There were seven paths, but the only one going up was the one on the far left.

"_What are you?"_ a mysterious, disembodied voice questioned.

Before anyone could answer the voice, the bones shook and formed a skeleton. Once the skeleton was formed, mussels and a thin layer of black skin appeared over the bones to form the form of an elfin man's shadow. Armor and weaponry materialized as the black elf turned to Hawke, ignoring everyone else.

"_What are you?"_ The shadow elf walked over to Marian. _"Why are you here?"_

"Last time I checked, I'm a human woman, and I'm just passing through," Marian stepped away from the creature with her right hand on her dagger. "I'm not looking for a fight."

"_You lie, mage! You should not exist!" _The shadow elf drew twin long swords and lunged at Hawke.

Marian shot some of the fire out of her left hand hitting the creature right in the face, slamming it away from her. Not allowing the shadow elf a chance to get back up, Hawke ran at it and removed its head with one fluid motion with her blade. Then several spikes of ice shredded the body of the shadow elf into ribbons. There was a look in her eyes the elf hadn't seen in any human before, but Fenris had seen it in many slaves back in Tevinter. It was a mix of fear, anger, self-loathing, and hopelessness.

"Well, we should probably get going," Hawke said after a short silence, her tone making it quite clear that she didn't want to discuss what had just happened.

Merrill led down the path to the summit. The whole time Fenris watched Marian, who was walking just behind the Dalish. The shadow elf's last words repeating in his head. _You should not exist!_

"Here is exit to the summit," Merrill stated once they got to the end of the path.

"Good," The fire vanished from Hawke's hand.

As soon as they all got out of the cave, the group found their path blocked by a magical barrier. Anders could not see any way around brightly glowing barrier. The path they were on was very narrow and next to a very steep cliff. Just past the semi-translucent wall, the mage could see a strange graveyard and just beyond it a small alter.

"I can open the way forward," Merrill walked up to the barrier. "One moment."

The female elf then took out a small dagger.

"Wait! Don't…" Marian shouted as the Dalish elf cut her wrist.

Blood rose out of the wound like a bird taking flight and hit the magical wall. Several things then happened all at once. The heaviness that had been in the air sense they had met Merrill intensified to the point Anders wasn't sure he was able to breathe; Merrill fell to the ground, grabbing her head in pain; and blood started to come out of Hawke's nose.

"_Marian is doing this!_" Justice said while Merrill screamed in pain as if her head was on fire.

"Marian, stop!" Carver grabbed his sister and shook her.

"I'm trying, Carver!" Marian looked at her brother, her blue eyes turning black. "But you know that I can't unless…"

Before she could finish, fifty skeletons pulled themselves from the ground in the graveyard.

"That'll work," Marian ran at the skeletons.

"Don't follow her," Carver ordered to the rest of them as he went over to Merrill.

"Are you insane?" Aveline asked while looking at Hawke who was being shot at by undead archers. "She can't take on so many alone."

Carver let out a small laugh. "Marian is not holding back this time."

**BOOM!** Marian used her magic to launch herself into the air while at the same time knocking all of the skeletons to the ground. This time, none of them got back up. While in the air, Hawke shot a large, powerful fireball out of her hands burning all of the skeletons to ash. The female mage landed gracefully on the ground just when a dozen more zombie corpses appeared around her. **BOOM!** All of the skeletons around her were launched off the summit with a powerful blast.

The heaviness in the air vanished, and Merrill shakily stood up with Carver's help. Marian walked over to the others, having a harder time standing then Merrill. Blood was coming out of the corners of her mouth and her nose. Anders met Hawke at the place the barrier once was.

"Check on Merrill," Marian leaned against a nearby stone. "I'll be fine."

Anders was hesitant, but did as she asked.

"That was a summing," Anders said once he got to Merrill. "That takes Blood Magic. Are you crazy?"

"Yes, it was blood magic, but I know what I'm doing," Merrill responded while Anders made sure that the female elf wasn't hurt. "That's never happened before though…"

"Just be thankful those creatures showed up when they did," Marian stated in an almost hollow tone. "If you had just waited a moment, this wouldn't have happened…"

"What do you mean?" Merrill asked, giving Hawke a strange look. "The sprit helped us didn't it?"

"You summoned demon," Marian wiped the blood off of her face with the back of her hand. "And this is how I react when that happens."

"Demons are just spirits. Like honor and joy," Anders could not believe that Merrill was saying this. "It's not their fault they are what they are."

"'Ignore the tiger. It's not fault that it's going to eat you.' Sound advice," Fenris spat his voice dripping with discourtesy and hatred.

"Once I'm able to walk straight, we do the ritual," Marian said. "I want to get off this damn mountain before anything else happens."


	14. Chapter 13: Flemeth

Thankfully, Anders was not able to find anything wrong with Merrill. In fact, if it was not for her screaming in pain not a few minutes ago, the mage would never have guessed there was anything wrong with her. Marian had outright refused to let Anders touch her, even though it was quite obvious Hawke was just barely able to stand.

After resting for a few minutes, Hawke gave Merrill the amulet. "Let's get this ritual over with."

Merrill took the necklace to the stone altar near the edge of the cliff. There was a small, brightly colored clay pot on top of it which had a bright blue flame within. The Dalish elf placed the talisman in front the pot. Merrill then started saying something in elfish. (Anders was not sure if it was some sort of prayer or spell.) Once the female elf finished speaking, she took out a pinch of something from a tiny pouch on her belt and threw it into the blue fire.

All at once the blue sky became black, and a bright, fiery flash of light blinded the entire group. Once the blonde haired mage could open his eyes, Anders saw an old woman standing next to Merrill. The old woman's hair was white save for some braids in the shape of horns which were white with blood red tips. Her face was not too wrinkled, but her yellowish eyes held the look of one who has lived for many, many years. She wore red leather armor with raven feathers on the shoulders, and iron arm armor which completely covered her arms.

"Ahh, and here we are," the old woman said in an almost serpentine like voice.

"A witch," Fenris hissed, his hand reaching for his blade.

"Calm yourself," Aveline ordered the elf. "We know this one."

Merrill bowed to the witch. "_Andaran atish'an, Asha'belannar._"

"One of The People. I see, so young and bright," The witch turned to Merrill. "Do you know who I am, beyond that title?"

"Only a little," the Dalish answered, her voice trembling.

"Then stand." Asha'belannar, or so the mage had guessed her name was, motioned for Merrill to stand up, which the elf did. "The People bend their knee too quickly."

The witch walked over to Hawke, who still was having some trouble standing. "So refreshing to see someone who keeps their end of a bargain. I half expected my amulet to end up in a merchant's pocket."

"No one would buy it," Marian said with her cocky smile and a small laugh. "I guess it has something to do with you being inside it."

"I see you still have that clever tongue of yours." The witch laughed. "But it was just a piece. A small piece, but it was all I needed. A bit of security, should the inevitable occur. And if I know my Morgan, it already has."

"Is that someone I should now?" Marian asked.

"She's a girl who thinks that she knows what is what better I, or anyone," The old woman flatly stated. "And why not I raised her to be as she is. I cannot expect her to be less."

"I'm not sure if she's you daughter or your enemy," Aveline gave the witch a confused look.

The old woman smiled, which for some reason sent shivers down Anders's spine. "Neither is she."

"What are you?" Anders found himself asking, not able to hold the question back anymore. "A spirit? An abomination? This is no magic I've ever seen."

The witch laughed and gave Anders a sly smile. "And you would know of spirits and abominations."

"I'm a mage," Anders said quickly, feeling very uncomfortable. "Of course, I know of such things."

"Of course," The old one agreed, her smile not leaving.

"You are no simple witch," Fenris gave the woman a harsh glare.

"Figured that out yourself did you?" The witch turned to Fenris, her creepy smile still on her face.

"I have seen powerful mages, spirits, and abominations." Fenris's mind went through all of the strange magics he had seen in his life, and this was like nothing he had ever seen. "But you are none of those things. What are you?"

"Such a curious lad," the old woman said, "The chains are broken, but are you truly free?"

"You see…much," The male elf looked away from the witch.

"If you really must know, I am the fly in the ointment. I am a whisper in the shadows. I am also an old, old woman," the witch answered. "More than that you need not know."

_First a Blood Mage, and now this!_ Fenris thought. The elf had no idea who or what this woman, which Fenris was not even sure was a woman, was or why Hawke had the amulet with this creature inside it.

"So are we finished or am I going to have to do something else?" Hawke questioned. "I mean, I am grateful to you for saving my family and all, but I do have a life you know. And you have your own plans I take it."

The witch laughed and turned to Marian. "Oh yes, we are finished. Destiny awaits us both, clever child. We have much to do. Before I go, a word of advice. We stand on the precipice of change. The world fears the inevitable plummet into the abyss. Watch for that moment… and when it comes to not hesitate to leap. It is only when you fall that you learn whether you can fly."

"Cheap advice coming from a dragon," Hawke retorted, sounding much better and able to stand more easily.

"We all have our challenges," The witch shrugged.

"As for you, child," The old woman turned to Merrill. "Step carefully. No path is darker than when your eyes are shut."

"_Ma serannas, Asha'belannar._" Merrill gave the witch a small bow.

"Now the time has come for me to leave," The witch walked right up to Marian. "You have my thanks… and… my sympathy."

"Sympathy," Marian let out a small laugh. "Sympathy is not something that I want or need."

"Good, that attitude will keep you alive," The witch walked over to the edge of the cliff.

There was another blinding flash of light. When the elf opened his eyes, Fenris saw a large, red colored dragon flying away from them. No one in the group said anything for several minutes.

"Let's get back to the Keeper," Merrill finally said, taking the amulet from the altar. "We should hurry if we want to make it to Kirkwall before sundown."


	15. Chapter 14: A Chat with Carver

Fenris looked out of the window of his room in Danarius's mansion as he took a large gulp of wine. The sun was only just about to set behind the Gallows making them look like a morbid lamp. The sight of the Gallows normally gave the elf a pleasant image of his former master being locked up in a place where slaves were at one point kept, but there was too much on his mind for the image to form.

It had been just over a week sense Fenris and the others had come back from Sundermount. The journey down the mountain had been completely uneventful with Marian not saying a single word to anyone. (There was a small smile on her face, but the elf had a feeling that the smile was not genuine.) They gave the necklace back to the Keeper, and the Dalish leader gave them seven gold coins for their trouble. Once they had returned to Kirkwall, Hawke had quietly slipped away from the group without anyone noticing.

"Don't worry about her," Carver had told everyone. "We'll see her sometime tomorrow."

Well, Hawke's brother was wrong. No one had seen hide nor hair of her, and Fenris found himself feeling worried about her. _She is a mage! _The elf had to keep telling himself. _There is no reason to worry about her._ But Fenris still could not stop wondering if she was alright.

Fenris cured in Tevinter and took another large gulp from his bottle when someone knocked on the front door. The elf's spirit's lifted as he walked, more quickly than he normally would, to the door. The only visitor he had had was Hawke. (None of the others had come to his home, much to the elf's joy.) However, when he opened the door, it was not Hawke who was standing there, it was Carver.

"Excuse me," Carver said as he walked past Fenris.

"What are you doing here?" Fenris demanded, not happy to see Hawke's brother who was obviously drunk.

Carver sat down in the nearest chair, a glum look in his face. "Marian hasn't been home all week, and she won't go home as long if I am there."

"What are you talking about?" Fenris said.

"She came right home after we came back from that damn mountain," Carver hung his head, not looking the elf in the eye. "Marian and I had a fight, and then she left."

"Maybe you should be looking for her instead of coming to my home," The elf demanded, while debating whether or not to throw the boy out.

"I won't be able to find her," Carver replied. "She disappears every now and again, and when Marian doesn't want to be found, Maker only knows where to find her."

"Why did you come here?" Fenris found himself asking, instead of punching the human in the face like he wanted to.

"Cause this is the one place that Marian won't come within several feet of," the black haired human bluntly stated. "And Marian won't go home for another few days if anyone knows where I am. This is the only way I know of to get her out of hiding."

Fenris was taken aback. "Why wouldn't she come here?"

Carver looked away from the elf. His eyes had a faraway look about them. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

Fenris sat down in a chair next to Carver. "Does this have something to do with her magic?"

"Yes…it does," Carver looked around the mansion, which looked very dilapidated. "Well, I've already explained all of this to Merrill. So, I'll tell you what I know too, but it isn't much."

"Our father taught Marian a rare form of Force Magic that was developed to fight Blood Mages." Carver turned to Fenris. "I only understand a little about magic, but I do know that it allows her to tell if Blood Magic has been done around her. You felt the strange heaviness in the air on Sundermount and on the night we fought all of those demons in this mansion."

Fenris did remember and he nodded.

"That is my sister's reaction to being around it," The human said, looking as though he was about to pass out. "It weakens those who use Blood Magic, and it can kill a Blood Mage if Marian wants to."

"Is that what almost happened to Merrill?" Fenris asked, remembering the way that the Dalish mage was screaming.

"Yes, but at least my sister was able to stop herself in time otherwise Merrill would be dead." Carver paused. "The big problem is that it makes her physically weak and can kill her if she does it for too long. The weaker Marian gets, the harder it is for her control it."

"Why would this keep her from coming to this mansion?" The elf question, not bothering to tell Carver that Hawke was the only other person to set foot in the manor.

But Carver had passed out before the elf had even finished his question. Fenris cursed under his breath in Tevinter. The elf would have kicked Carver to wake him up, but the words '_This is the only way I know of to get her out of hiding_' stopped him. Fenris had no doubt that Carver understood his sister better than anyone in their small group. After all, they had grown up together. Fenris drained the rest of the wine and left his house. The last thing that Fenris wanted to see was Carver with a hangover.

Once outside, Fenris just started to wonder around Hightown just as the sun disappeared in the west. The elf had no idea where he was going. (Fenris knew that none of the bandits in the area would attack him because they had learned to stay well away from him if they wanted to live.) However, somehow Fenris found himself walking toward the Gallows.

In a small road which connected Lowtown, Hightown, and the Gallows together, Fenris saw a group of seven men attacking a young woman. Each of the men were very large and wearing clothes that were mostly black with red trim. The woman was on the ground being kicked by a five of them while the other two were keeping a lookout. They had not seen Fenris because he was standing in an area where he could see them without being seen. When the elf was at long last able to get a good look at the woman, to his horror Fenris saw that it was Marian. 


	16. Chapter 15: Violence and Song

_Author's Note: Loyal readers, the song that Marian is going to sing in this chapter uses the tune form the Celtic song 'Spanish Lady' which I renamed 'Orlesian Lady.' Here is a link to a youtube video that you can listen to in order understand how Marian sounds: .com/watch?v=LHOyPLSVam4. _

Fenris ran from his hiding place to Marian's rescue, blade in hand. The only thought that was on his mind was Marian on the ground. Hawke's attackers turned to face the angry elf stepping away from her. Once their backs were turned, Marian jumped up and started swinging her dagger at them. Between the elf's large swings cutting four of them in half and Marian's dagger slitting the throats of the other three. The attackers were dead on the ground within moments. The ground was stained red with blood and organ gore. Half of Maran's cape was covered in blood.

"Oh no, I got blood on my cape," Marian said with a small sigh. "This is why I can't have nice things."

"Hawke are you alright?" Fenris walked over to her.

"I'm fine," Maran started going through the pockets of the closest body. "I could have killed these assholes quite easily, but I was hoping they would take me to their boss."

Fenris was now very confused. "Their boss?"

"Yeah, for the past week, I've been being hunted by seven Blood Mages," Fenris was shocked at her tone of voice. It was almost like she was talking about what she had eaten for dinner. "I killed five of them, but I can't find the other two."

"Maker's Breath, Hawke!" Fenris exclaimed. "Why didn't you come to any of us for help?"

Marian turned to Fenris. "Why? It is my problem, no one else's."

Marian stood up with two sovereigns in her hand. "Besides, I get attacked by asshole, Blood Mages about five times a year."

Before the elf could respond, a hail of arrows rained down on them. Fenris was able to move out of the way in time to keep from being hit by the dozens of arrows, but five arrows hit Hawke. Three arrows were in her left leg, and two arrows had landed in her back.

"Son of a bitch!" Hawke shouted, getting out of the way out before the second flood of arrows could hit her.

"Hawke, are you alright?" Fenris pulled Marian closer to the brick wall, which was the only thing keeping them from getting hit by the arrows.

"I'll be fine." Marian pulled out the three arrows out of her leg with one quick jerk. "Once I blast a fireball up their asses!"

"We need to get you to Anders's clinic," Fenris looked around in hopes to find a way out without getting hit by arrows, but there were none.

"Anders doesn't need to be brought into this." Marian tore off pieces of cloth from her cape. "I'll be fine, but we need to get out of here."

"Hawke, we're can't leave this allay without getting hit with arrows," Fenris said as Marian used the pieces of cloth to wrap around her wound.

"Open that box behind you," Hawke ordered, pointing to a large crate just behind the elf.

Fenris did as he was asked. Once he opened the crate, the elf found a large shaft going downward with a ladder starting just below the lid of the box. The shaft was so deep that the elf was unable to see the bottom.

Fenris looked at Hawke "What is…"

Marian cut him off. "This is not a time for questions, just go down the ladder!"

A very confused Fenris got in the crate and started to climb down the ladder. Marian quickly followed and closed the lid leaving the two of them in darkness. While going down the ladder, he heard a soft _click_ as if someone was locking a door. _By the Void, how far does this shaft go?_ The elf wondered after several minutes of climbing downward. Fenris was half worried that Hawke's leg would not be able to handle the rest of the climb and fall down on top of him.

At long last, Fenris felt the ground beneath his feet. It was still way too dark for him to be able to see anything, but the elf still took three steps away from the ladder to give Hawke room. The elf was not sure how long he stood alone in the darkness, wherever he was, until he head Marian's feet hitting the ground.

"Fenris, are you okay?" Marian asked as she made her left hand glow the same way that she did on Sundermount.

"I'm fine," the elf replied as he shielded his eyes from the sudden light.

Once his eyes could handle the light, Fenris looked around him. They were in what looked like a small wooden room. There was a small oak table, which had three tiny lanterns on it, and around the table two chairs made from ash. On the wooden walls, there were several shelves filled with health potions, bottles of ale, and elfroots. At the far corner, there was a small cot with dirty black blankets.

"What is this place, Hawke?" the elf questioned, while Marian lit the lanterns with small bursts of flames from her fingers.

"It was a slaver hideout," Marian's hand stopped glowing. "The slavers died, and I decided to use it in case I need to hide from the Templars."

Fenris smiled, having a pretty good idea how the slavers died. Marian grabbed two bottles of ale and a health potion. She handed one of the bottles to Fenris.

"Get comfortable," Marian sat down in one of the chairs in a way not to hit the arrows that were still stuck in her back. "We may need to stay here all night."

Marian pulled off the cloth and pulled up her pants up, so she could get a good look at her wounded leg. Without making a face at the three horrible marks on her leg, Hawke poured some of the health potion on them, healing them instantly.

"Do you want me to pull those out for you?" Fenris offered when Marian tried to reach for one of the arrows on her back.

Marian nodded. He walked over to Hawke, who was facing away from him in order to make it easier for him to get at the arrows. The elf grabbed an arrow that was stuck in her upper left shoulder and yanked it out in one pull. Then Fenris grabbed the last of the arrows, which was sticking out just above her right hip, and pulled it out.

Marian handed Fenris the half empty health potion bottle. "I'm going to take off my shirt, and then I want you to pour the rest of this over my wounds."

Before the elf could say anything, Hawke pulled her off her cloak and removed her shirt. Fenris froze for a few moments while he looked at her almost naked back. (The only thing she was wearing under her tunic were some very plain, but practical small clothes.) Hawke's upper body, or at least her back because that was all he could see, had several tiny scars from what could only have been arrow wounds. But, it did not take away from her beautiful tiny frame which was toned more like a fighter's then a mages. Once he got a hold of himself, Fenris emptied the potion on her wounds.

"Thanks, Fenris," Marian pulled her shirt back on.

"You're welcome," Fenris said as he sat down, feeling more than a little awkward.

Marian opened her bottle and blew a magical burst of cold air into it. Nothing was said for a few minutes, mostly because the elf had no idea what to say to her at the moment. Then the elf heard Marian humming a tune to herself.

"What are you humming?" The elf found himself asking, now deeply regretting the half drunk bottle of ale in his hand.

"A song called 'Orlesian Lady," Marian answered. "Have you ever heard it before?"

"No, I haven't," Fenris did not know any songs in fact.

"Well, I'll sing it for you," Marian took a small swig from her bottle, and she than started to sing.

"_As I came down through Denerim  
>At the hour of twelve at night<br>Who should I see but the Orlesian Lady  
>Washing her feet by candlelight<br>First she washed them, then she dried them  
>Over a fire of amber coal<br>In all my life I ne'er did see  
>A maid so sweet about the soul<em>

_Whack for the toora loora laddy  
>Whack for the toora loora lay<br>Whack for the toora loora laddy  
>Whack for the toora loora lay<em>

_As I came back through Denerim,  
>At the hour of half past eight<br>Who should I spy but the Orlesian Lady  
>Brushing her hair in the broad daylight<br>First she tossed it, then she brushed it  
>On her lap was a silver comb<br>In all my life I ne'er did see  
>A maid so fair since I did roam<em>

_Whack for the toora loora laddy  
>Whack for the toora loora lay<br>Whack for the toora loora laddy  
>Whack for the toora loora lay<em>

_As I went back through Denerim  
>As the sun began to set<br>Who should I spy but the Orlesian Lady  
>Catching a moth in a golden net<br>When she saw me, then she fled me  
>Lifting her petticoat over her knee<br>In all my life I ne?er did see  
>A maid so shy as the Orlesian Lady<em>

_Whack for the toora loora laddy  
>Whack for the toora loora lay<br>Whack for the toora loora laddy  
>Whack for the toora loora lay<br>Whack for the toora loora laddy  
>Whack for the toora loora lay<br>Whack for the toora loora laddy  
>Whack for the toora loora lay<em>"

Fenris was thunderstruck. Never in his life had he ever heard something so beautiful. For a brief moment, the elf forgot his anger for his former master. In fact, while Hawke sang, the only thing that mattered to him was listening to the mages lovely voice.

Once she had finished, Marian gave him one of her cocky smiles. "You now see why I wanted to be a traveling minstrel."

Fenris smiled at Hawke. "I remembering you saying something like the first night I met you."

Marian suddenly grabbed her head and her body started to wobble a bit. "Maker, I need to lay down."

Hawke stood up, but she imminently crashed to the ground.

"Hawke!" Fenris ran over to her.

The elf picked the woman up in his arms, and Hawke turned to him, her eyes clouded and her body was completely limp. The elf cursed. Fenris knew what was wrong with her. He had seen it before. Those bastards had shot Hawke with poisoned arrows.


	17. Chapter 16: Poison

Several thoughts entered Fenris's mind at once. First, was that if Marian didn't get immediate help, she was not going to live through the night. Second, that there was no possible way that he was going to be able to carry her up the ladder in her condition. Third, the elf knew that Hawke had locked the entrance to the shaft, and he had no way of knowing how to open it. Fourth, Marian didn't have anything on her shelves in case she was ever poisoned. Fifth and finally, there was still a good chance that those who shot her a little while ago were still around the area the entrance was. All and all, the situation looked completely hopeless.

Instead of giving into despair, the elf laid Hawke down on the cot and covered her with the blankets. Based on her clouded eyes, limp body, and now much shallower breathing, Fenris knew that the arrow was covered with the poison _Quiet Death_. In small doses of one or two drops, it could easily paralyze an ogre, much less a person for over several hours. However, any dose larger than that, the victim would die a very slow and painful death if not given the antidote.

"Hawke! Hawke!" Fenris gently shook Marian when she closed her eyes. "You can't fall asleep you hear me!"

"But… I'm… so… sleepy," Marian looked at Fenris, or tried to at least.

"You've been poisoned with _Quiet Death_," the elf explained, deciding that he should tell her the truth.

"And if I fall asleep, it will kill me faster," Marian said, her voice sounding a little stronger. "This group must be really desperate."

The offhanded tone of her voice scared Fenris. It was almost like she did not care that her life had been shortened to hours, and that she did not mind facing death. For some reason that he could not fully explain, the idea of Hawke dieing terrified him. Mage or not, Marian could not die.

"Is there another way out of here" Fenris looked around the small room in hopes of seeing the outline of a door somewhere.

"There is a secret door that leads to Darktown, but I've never found it," Hawke replied. "It's locked from the other side and is disguised to look like a wall."

Those few words gave the elf a faint glimmer of hope. Darktown was where Anders had his clinic. Even though the elf hated to admit it, Anders was Hawke's best chance. He had no idea where in Darktown the mage's clinic was, but Fenris knew that he would be able to find it. All he had to do was find that door. Fenris immediately started to lightly knock on the closest wall. The elf listened carefully each time he rapped at the wall, hoping to hear the hollow sound of a secret door.

"Any luck, Fenris?" Marian asked after a few very long minuets of silence, her head facing the ceiling unable to move.

"Not yet, but don't worry I'll find it," Fenris stated, doing his best to hide his growing panic.

After another several minutes of searching, the elf was starting to lose hope. He had knocked on every wall in the room, doing his best to not let Hawke see his nervousness. _I have to hurry!_ The elf thought, knowing that every minute he did not find that secret door was another minute the poison was shortening Hawke's life.

"Fenris, can I get you to promise me something?" Marian questioned. "You know just in case."

Fenris turned to Hawke, understanding what she was asking. "You're not going to die Hawke."

"I said, 'just in case' not when," Hawke sarcastically said. "And this is something that needs to be done."

"What is it?" Fenris could not believe what he was saying.

"There are some letters hidden in a pocket, and I would like you to give them to Carver, if things turn out bad," Fenris could tell by Hawke's tone of voice that this was very important to her.

Fenris remembered Carver saying something about and argument between the two of them. "Does this have anything to do with the fight that you and Carver had?"

"You've been taking to my brother when he's drunk," Marian let out a small laugh, her voice starting to trail off again. "Yeah, this is my apology; I was getting the letters just before I was first attacked."

"Apology?" Fenris was confused, who would want to apologize to Carver.

"Carver wasn't always a pain in the ass. When Bethany was alive…" A small tear fell from Hawke's eye.

"Whose Bethany?" Fenris asked, never having heard either Marian or Carver ever mention the name before.

"My younger sister and Carver's twin who died when the darkspawn attacked Lothering," Marian answered. "She was a mage too, but, unlike me, Bethany was gifted in healing magic. She was one of those people who could make you feel better just by being in the room. To this day, she was the only person who could calm down Carver when he got mad. When the darkspawn attacked, we were almost able to escape with Aveline and her husband, but this ogre came out of nowhere and crushed her to death."

Marian paused for a brief moment. "The night we came back from Sundermount, Carver and I had a fight that was bound to happen: Carver blaming me for Bethany's death. He didn't have to say it. I know that it was my fault."

"How could that be your fault?" Fenris asked, beginning to worry the poison was affecting thinking.

"I had small chance to kill it, but I didn't react in time," Marian let out a small sigh. "And my sister paid the price."

"What does this have to do with the letters?" Fenris questioned.

"I got those letters from a friend of my father at the Gallows," Marian said her voice sounding weaker. "The letters were to the Templar who allowed my father to escape the Gallows, whom is my brother's namesake. I was going to give them to him as an apology."

"Are you certain it's wise for you to be in the Gallows?" Fenris knew that the Templars in Kirkwall were not kind to apostate mages.

"Oh they didn't notice little old me, don't you worry," Marian smiled her cocky smile.

"Very reassuring," the elf replied, not liking the color leaving Hawke's cheeks. "I've… heard about the Circle of Magi outside of the Imperium, but I've never been to one. From what I've seen, the Gallows, it seems more like a prison. I wonder if it's more effective than the Circle I know."

"How is the Imperial Circle of Magi different?" Hawke asked, much to the elf's surprise.

"Once upon a time it was like it is here," Fenris replied, to keep Hawke, who looked like she was about to fall asleep, awake more than anything else. "The Chantry watched the magisters closely for any sign of corruption or weakness. Then it changed, the magisters were permitted to watch over their own, and Templars kept only to enforce the law. What happened next was inevitable. The magisters rule again as powerful as they ever were."

Fenris was far to worried about Hawke to remember the hatred the elf felt for the magisters. It was getting harder for her to breathe let alone stay awake.

"You said the Chantry used to watch the magisters," Hawke's eyes were just barely open. "Why did they stop?"

"You must remember the attitude towards magic is different in Tevinter," Fenris had to keep her talking. "Magisters came from wealthy families, bloodlines which had nurtured magical talent for countless generations. The Chantry was not trying to control poor peasants, but the scions of the greatest houses in the Imperium."

"And here I had always thought that the magisters were thrown down by the Chantry," Marian said.

"On the contrary, Andraste never defeated the Imperium," Fenris corrected. "Her great army conquered the south, but not the north. The magisters eventually surrendered to the Chantry, but on their terms. They kept their influence. Thus they reclaimed what they lost over the centuries. Some battles are lost by inches."

"You're saying the same thing could happen here?" Hawke's voice was barely a whisper.

"If the mages were permitted to be their own watchers, of course," Fenris stated, with more than a hint of bitterness. "It is too easy for a mage to resort to Blood Magic, if they feel the need is great enough. A mage can desire power, justice, revenge, protection… any cause will do, and then they are lost."

"But don't all people desire such things? Are mages special to be locked up in towers and such?" Marian asked.

Marian's words shook the elf. It was a few second before before he could respond. "All I am saying is that the Imperium offers no answer. All that Andraste did to end the tyranny of magic has been undone. Power corrupts as they say, and mages have enough power already."

"The Circle may be better than the alterative," Hawke calmly stated. "But what happens when the Chantry forgets that mages are people who love, hate, and fear just like everyone else?"

"What do you mean?" the elf asked confused.

But Hawke didn't answer. She had fallen fast asleep. Fenris shook Marian trying to wake her up, but to no avail. In frustration, he slammed his fist against the wall next to her cot. Instead of solid wall, the elf's fist went through it. Fenris froze, but in his heart he knew that he had found the secret door.


	18. Chapter 17: Attack on the Clinic

Anders was not sure what to think when Fenris ran into his clinic with Hawke in his arms, wrapped in a black blanket, around midnight in the morning. At first, the mage had thought that the elf had done something to her, but the look on Fenris's face told him differently. Fenris quickly, but gently laid Hawke down on the closest cot.

"By the Void, what happened?" Anders ran over to Hawke, almost pushing the elf out of his way.

Marian's face, which was usually so bright with laughter and life, was waxy in pallor and darkened with hints of death. She was sweating profusely and just barely breathing. If something was not done quickly, there was no doubt that Hawke was going to die.

"Hawke's been poisoned with _Quiet Death_," Fenris explained while putting Marian's blood stained cape on a nearby chair.

"Maker no…" Anders ran over to his herb shelf, knowing that time was of the essence.

The healer knew that the poison was made from toxin extract, death root, and concentrator agent, and, thankfully, the mage had herbs and roots to make a potion that could counter act the poison. Anders grabbed three brown elfroots and five golden, spindleweed flowers from their respective jars and shoved them into his mortar. He took the pestle and began to grind the two together into a golden-brown paste. Saving Hawke was the only thing on his mind.

"What's taking so long?" Fenris demanded his deep voice sounding more like an animal's screaming.

"_Life Ward_ is hard enough to make without someone shouting at you," Anders snapped, while adding some water and a few drops of distillation agent to the brown paste. "If I do this wrong, it will kill Hawke instead of save her."

That shut the elf up. Anders slowly poured the mixture into a clay bowl, taking great care not completely mix the paste to the liquid. Once the mortar was completely empty, the mage grabbed a health potion bottle and opened it. Being as careful as possible, Anders let three tiny drops fall into the bowl. He then placed the potion down and picked up a tiny metal rod. Anders used this rod to mix everything into a golden liquid.

"Get Hawke to sit up," Anders ordered Fenris, grabbing the bowl.

Fenris, who had never left Hawke's side, gently lifted Marian into a sitting position while Anders walked over to them. The mage opened her mouth with the bowl and placed his free hand on her neck. As Anders lifted up the bowl causing the potion to enter her mouth, the mage used his magic to prevent the liquid from entering her wind-pipe and made Hawke drink the potion.

"Lay her back down," Anders said, once Marian had drunk the entire potion.

Fenris did as he was told. It was quite apparent that the concoction was helping almost instantaneously. The waxy pallor of her face was already fading and her breathing was sounding better. A wave of relief washed over the mage.

Anders turned to the elf. "How did this happen?"

"She was shot by five poisoned arrows," Fanris sat down in the chair he hung Hawke's cape. "For the past week she has been hunted by Blood Mages."

Before Anders could respond, a young, female voice said, "Yes, and now they will be taking her."

The two men turned to the only entrance. Standing at the door, which in heat of saving Marian had never been shut, were ten people. Two were quite obviously mages with elegantly embroidered robes and large ornate staffs. One was a woman who could not have been much older than sixteen with copper colored hair and grey, emotionless eyes. The other mage was an old man with a large scar running down the side of his face. In front of the mages, there were eight archers with their bows and arrows aimed right at them and wore black and red clothes.

"Andraste's ass you will!" Anders grabbed his staff.

"Well, then you die," the old man said in a gruff voice.

Before anyone had a chance to attack, Fenris had hacked all the archers down with a single blow of his large sword. The dark look on the elf's face slightly scared Anders. The elf was just about to strike the mages, who had not moved while he was killing their men, when the old man snapped his fingers. The blood of the dead archers turned into a large, red shade and slammed the elf across the room. Anders formed a magical shield around Hawke, and then shot a blast of magical energy at the shade. However, all it seemed to do was knock it back a few inches.

"Don't play with them too much," the girl said to the old man, as the shade shot a large fireball at Anders.

The healer put out the fireball with ice while Fenris got back on his feet. The elf's markings glowing as he charged at the summoned demon. While the creature raised its arms to hit Fenris, Anders used the opportunity to hit it with a very powerful spell. The shade screamed in pain, and the elf was able to kill it with his blade. The Shade exploded into a pile of bloody ash.

"That was a waste of time," The younger of the two mages muttered a spell under her breath.

The two men were instantly flung into the wall, pined in a way that neither of them could move. Anders had no idea what the young girl had done, but he was unable to do any magic. The red haired girl bound right up to them, a sadistic smile on her face. Whoever this girl was, she was a very powerful mage.

"Should I cut the knife ear's ears off, or pluck the healer's eyes out first?" The girl pulled a large dagger out of her robe pocket.

"Do as you wish," the old mage replied as he tried to break the magical shield around Hawke, who was still sleeping. "But, killing the healer should get rid of this damn shield."

Just before the woman's blade could cut into Ander's flesh, the room shook with a loud **BOOM!** Anders and Fenris fell to the floor; the spell on them broken while the two Blood Mages were on the ground hands on their heads and screaming in pain. Anders heard Justice complain that the spell that had just been cast felt wrong and looked at Marian, who was standing up with no shield around her.

"You assholes were going to kill my friends!" Marian calmly walked over to their attackers, not paying any attention to their screams of pain. "And there are a few things you never do when it comes to me. First, never play me in checkers; I will kick your ass. Second, never cheat when I am playing a card game with you; I will set you fire and laugh about it. Third, never have me consider you an asshole; the chanced of you living for more than a year are very small. Fourth, and last, never harm or threaten to harm my friends and my family; I will hunt you down to the Black City itself if I have to and kill you in a way that will make you wish that you were never born."

Marian looked at the younger of the mages. **BOOM!** The female attacker's head exploded with parts of her brain coating the older mage, who looked at Hawke in a gaze of pure horror. Hawke sat down on the ground in front of the older mage.

"You either tell me who sent you," Hawke calmly stated. "Or, you'll end up like her."

"Tarohne," The old man wheezed out between screams.

"Where do I find her?" Marian demanded.

"I don't know," the scarred man answered. "We were trying to join her, and the only way she would allow us to, was if we brought you to Tarohne, dead or alive."

"Are there any others in your group?" Hawke stood up.

"You killed the others," The old mage grabbed his head. "Please make the pain stop!"

**BOOM!** The old mage's head exploded.

Hawke gagged. "Damn it! I got Blood Mage exploded brains on me!"


	19. Chapter 18: Hawke's Confession

"Unclean! Unclean!" Hawke walked over to a washbowl on a nearby table and started to wash the blood and gore off of her face.

Fenris looked at the headless bodies of the Blood Mages. For a brief moment, the elf could not help but smile as he imagined his former master meeting the same end. _Yes, that is what Danarius deservers!_ He thought. However, his mind was quickly brought back when Hawke took off her belt along with her dagger and started to take off her shirt.

"Hawke, that may not be a good idea." Anders stopped her, and the elf could not help but notice the mage was blushing slightly. (Frenis, for some reason, did not like the face the mage made while blushing.)

"You're right." Hawke turned to the dead mages. "I should burn their bodies first or I'll get more of their blood and filth on me."

Without another word, an eruption of flames shot out of Hawke's hands turning the bodies and three cots into cinders. As soon as she was done with the bodies of the mages, Marian burned the bodies of their archers, this time not burning anything else. Fenris could hear the mage groan as he used a spell to put out the fires before the whole clinic burned down. Once the fires had been put out, Marian quickly tore of her shirt, boots, and pants and burned them.

This was an image that the elf was sure that he would never be able to get out of his head. Not just because Hawke was standing in front of both him and Anders in nothing but her small clothes, but because of how for the first time Fenris understood how people could be afraid of her. She may have had a slim almost frail looking body frame while wearing her baggy clothes, but that hid her toned, rapier like body. The cocky smile on her face was gone, replaced with a harsh glare, and her eyes looked darker than before. All and all, Hawke looked more like a demon at the moment than a human woman. All at once, Marian started coughing violently. Even though she put her hand to her mouth, Fenris still saw blood escape from her mouth.

"Hawke!" Anders shouted as Hawke collapsed to the ground, out cold.

Anders ran over to her. _Maker, please let her be alright!_ The mage thought while checking her health using a spell. To Ander's utter amazement and shock, even though Marian was still coughing up bits of blood, there was nothing wrong with her.

"_Her magic is the cause of this, Anders!_" Justice's voice screamed.

Anders was inclined to agree.

"Is Hawke alright?" Fenris, whom Anders had completely forgotten was still in the room, asked as he knelt down next to them.

"Yes," Andes laid her down on the cot she was on before and covered her with the black blanket Fenris brought her in. "She just needs to rest."

Anders turned to the elf. "I'll still need to watch over her for the rest of the night, just in case. You don't have to stay."

"Like I'm going to leave her alone with you, mage," Fenris said, with more than a hint of distain. "The last thing Hawke needs around her now is an abomination."

Anders was not in the mood for this. "Why don't you shout? I don't everyone heard you."

"Do you see yourself as harmless, then?" The elf sneered. "An abomination who would never harm anyone?"

"Like ripping someone's heart out of their chest?" The mage retorted.

Fenris glared at him. "I did that at the behest of no demon."

"So we agree that it doesn't take a demon for someone to be a vicious killer? Good," Anders snapped. "Maybe you can now do something useful, like letting her family know that she's alright."

That, thankfully, had shut the elf up. Fenris gave Hawke one last quick glance and left his clinic, slamming the door behind him. Anders sighed, but at least the brooding elf was out of his hair for the moment. _Maybe I should have told him to bring some of Marian's clothes._ He suddenly thought as he remembered that she had burned her blood stained clothes. But it was too late now, so the mage sat down on the nearest chair. Anders suddenly felt very sleepy, and soon he fell fast asleep.

Anders was not sure how long he had been asleep when he was awoken by a large **BANG!** The mage opened his eyes as he was looking at Hawke, who was sitting up, while he was blown against the wall. He screamed in pain. He looked at Marian, whose eyes were completely black, as room began to feel very heavy.

"Hawke, what are you doing?" Anders asked while she walked over to him in an otherworldly manner.

Marian stood in front of the pinned mage and looked him, tilting her head slightly to one side. **"WERE THE MAGES WHO ATTACKED ME? I FEEL THEIR MAGIC, BUT I DO NOT SEE THEM."**

Anders shuttered. That was not Hawke's voice, but it was not the sound that an abomination would make either. It was a voice filled with power, hatred, and utterly devoid of mercy.

**"TELL ME OR I'LL KILL YOU,"** Hawke calmly said, as Anders felt like he was going to suffocate.

"Hawke…" Anders choked out with the last of his air.

All at once the heaviness was gone, and Anders fell to the ground. He quickly looked up and met Hawke's face. Her eyes were back to their crystal blue color, and tears were falling from her face.

"Maker…Anders…I'm…" Hawke stumbled away from Anders, unable to finish her sentence.

Anders stood up. "Hawke, what was that?"

"My… condition," Marian sat down on the cot, and wrapped herself up in the blanket. "And what makes me more of a monster than you."

Anders slowly, very slowly, walked over to where she was sitting. Justice was screaming at him to stay as far away from her as he could, but the mage chose not to listen. All he saw was Hawke crying and wearing an all too familiar look of regret. The mage then sat down next to her on the cot.

"Is this condition the reason why you always seem so weak after you used magic?" Anders asked.

"Well there is no point playing dumb anymore, now that you have seen what I can really do," Hawke stated. "Yes, it is the reason. And I know your next question is, and the answer is no. This condition is not tied to my magic, but when I am exposed to Blood Magic... My magic just reacts to it."

Before Anders could say anything in replay, Marian added. "And no these powers came from no spirit nor did they come from a demon."

"Just where did they come from then?" Anders questioned.

"I inherited this from my father," Hawke looked at the ground. "That is all that you really need to know for now."

Anders could not stop himself. "How did your father get them?"

"Anders," Marian turned to him her face full of regret. "I'm sorry, but I can't tell you. Not even my own family knows the truth. It is not because I don't trust you, but because your life would be more at risk then it already is. Not just you, but, if the Chantry ever knew that Malcolm Hawke's daughter has his magic, they would kill both my mother, Carver, Uncle Gamlen, and anyone who is too close to me."

Hawke looked away from Anders. "I can't allow that to happen. I can't"

After a very long silence, Marian looked at Anders with a confused look on her face. "Why hasn't Justice tried to kill me yet?"

Anders was taken aback. Justice may not have wanted to be too close to her after what just happened, but attack her? "Why would he want to do that?"

"Because that is what spirits always do to me," Hawke said with a small, melancholy laugh. "Demons try to get me to make deals with them, saying that they can cure me; and when I say no, they send Blood Mages to do Maker knows what to me. While spirits attack me, saying that I should not exist."

Anders was horrified, but Justice was even more so. Whatever her condition was, it was something that caused spirits to attack a mage. That was just something spirits by their very nature did not do, unless that mage had made some sort of deal with a demon.

"If that's true, why are you fine with being alone with me?" Anders asked, not sure if he really wanted to hear the answer.

"For two very simple reasons." Marian gave Anders a small cocky smile. "First, because you are a good man, Anders. Second, because a part of me wonders how a fight between me and Justice would end."

Anders let out a small laugh in spite of himself. "I had a friend like you once. Got in all kinds of trouble, dragged me along. Didn't think I'd be doing that again. This is even weightier than last time we talked."

"And yet again not a single person here besides us," Hawke said with a small laugh. "Does anyone even come to this clinic?"

Anders shrugged "Well, tonight Fenris brought you are here for healing because you were poisoned by arrows."

"Is that how I got here?" Marian asked surprised.

"Yes," Anders then added. "If I had known about your condition, I wouldn't have bothered you with Justice."

Hawke dismissed the comment with a small wave of her hand. "You can tell me anything."

"Anything?" Anders raised an eyebrow. "Be careful what you offer. I didn't know what would happen. I figured a willing host, a friend…it had to be better than playing the demon and haunting some corpse."

"We can't always predict the outcome of our actions. We can only make them with a true heart," Hawke stated.

"Kind, wise, and beautiful," Anders blustered out before he could stop himself. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say: you must have made a deal with some demons yourself."

"I'm sorry," Anders quickly said. "I just… we've hardly met and I feel like I know you. Am I making you uncomfortable?"

"No, but it may be because we both have issues the other can understand," Marian yawned. "I am so tired."

"You should get some sleep." Anders stood up. "You aren't going to…"

Hawke shook her head. "That was only because I've been doing nothing for the past week but fighting Blood Mages, which, if everything had gone according to plan, you and Fenris would never had known about it."

Anders nodded and walked over to the other room of the clinic. Before he entered the second room, the mage took a quick glance at Hawke who was already fast asleep. In spite of everything that had happened that night the only thing that was on his mind at that moment were her words: you are a good man, Anders. Never in his life had he ever met a woman like her. Whatever her power really was, all she wanted to do was keep others safe. And to top it all off, she was beautiful in both body and soul.

Anders shook his head. What was he thinking? Hawke had enough problems without him adding more, and the mage knew that he would only break her heart in the end. Hurting her would kill him in a worse way the Templars could. _If only we had met a year ago…_Anders thought as he entered the other room.


	20. Chapter 19: A Few More Songs

_Author's Note: More singing in this chapter and the links will follow the rest of this message. This is a soft reprieve before the group meets Isabela. For the first song: .com/watch?v=UIUzgUM8CZs and for the second one:_ _.com/watch?v=HU0NqaWEBA4. Just like before, the lyrics will be slightly changed to fit the Dragon Age world, but this time I wrote the way it is a bit differently. Enjoy and sorry for it being longer than I intended _

Over the next few days, Anders was happy to see Hawke back to her normal self. Any trace of sadness had vanished, and Hawke's smile was back to always being on her face. She had even started teaching Merrill, whom Anders had thought she would stay well away from considering her condition, how to play cards. Not seeming to care in the least that she was a Blood Mage. _But that was Hawke._ The Healer had mused.

Today the entire group was in the dwarf's room at the Hanged Man. For the past day or two, Hawke and Varric had been gathering rumors in hopes to find work. However, they had come up with absolutely nothing. Merrill and Hawke were playing cards, while Fenris sat in a chair near the corner a little ways from the group. Anders was sitting next to Varric and Carver, whom seemed to be acting even broodier than Fenris. (Aveline was too busy with the city guard to join them.)

"This is starting to become slightly frustrating," Hawke said as she dealt cards for herself and Merrill. "If we don't find work soon, there will be no way we'll come up with the gold we need."

"I never thought I would I'd ever hear something depressing coming from you, Hawke," Varric quipped.

Hawke shrugged. "Nearly dying can do that to you."

Carver shot Marian an angry look. Ever sense he found out that the reason for Hawke's disappearance, the dark haired man was, for lack of better words, pissed off. Why he was mad at Hawke Anders had no idea, but any reference to the attack put him in a sour mood.

Sounds of fighting came from the Hanged Man's main room. It was not the first time a fight had broken out at the tavern, but this one sounded rougher than usual. The healer could not help but sigh, knowing that Hawke would go and watch, just like she did whenever a fight broke out. Before she was able to leave, however, a male elf with long, braided red hair entered the room. The red haired man was wearing a flashy red outfit.

"Gethon?" Hawke said in surprise when she saw the man.

"Marian!" Gethon ran over to Hawke, paying no mind to everyone else in the room. "Thank the Maker I found you! I need your help."

"With what and why?" Hawke asked with a small sigh.

Gethon sat in the closest chair. "Nessa is sick, and we need someone can replace her for tonight's job."

Hawke stood up. "Where is the job, and for Maker's sake please don't tell me I'll have to wear that dumb outfit."

"Can't you find someone else?" Carver shouted before the elf could answer Hawke. "We have enough problems of our own."

The elf ignored him. "The job is here in the main room, and yes, you'll have to wear Nessa's costume."

Marian sat back down. "Too busy."

The elf dropped five gold coins on the table. "You'll get two more when you're done, and you can keep all tips."

"You're lucky I need money and that you are a friend, Gethon." Hawke got up and followed the elf out of the room. "Otherwise, I'd be kicking your ass right now."

After a few seconds, Verrric turned to Carver. "Okay Junior, what just happened?"

Carver did not answer. Instead, he got up and stormed out the room, leaving the whole group very confused. Fenris was debating between going to the Hanged Man's main room or following Carver when Merrill spoke.

"Maybe we should go to the main room," Merrill suggested.

"Sounds like a good idea to me, Daisy," Varric stood up. "That may be the only way we'll get any answers."

The whole group went to the main room with Fenris taking up the rear, mostly because he did not want to be too close to the mages. What they found surprised them all. Half of the room had all of the tables removed and only a few chairs were sitting in the middle of the clearing. Two men, one was a human and the other was the elf who had spoken to Hawke, were moving the chairs. Both of the men were dressed in the same outfit. Carver was sitting close to the clearing with a harsh look in his eyes.

The group found seats, which was nearly impossible considering almost every chair had someone sitting in it. Sitting on a bar stool closest to the wall, he noticed a dark haired woman with a very deep tan looking at him. Fenris was sure that she was a sailor from her dress, but she could have also been a whore.

Three women then joined to two who were setting up the chairs with different types of instruments in hand. Two were elves and wore simple but elegant black dresses, but the third was a human and wore a bright red gown. The third woman reminded him of someone, but he was not sure who.

She had long, wavy black hair which just draped her past shoulders like silk, but her face was turned in a way that prevented the elf from seeing it. Her head was just a few inches above the female elves, but slightly shorter than Fenris. The dress fit her well with every curve accentuated with well-placed ruffles. Even without doing anything, all of Fenris's focus was drawn to her.

"That's Hawke!" Varric said when the woman's face could be seen.

Indeed, it was Marian, but Fenris could hardly believe it. She looked nothing like the woman he had come to know these past weeks. Instead, Hawke looked more like a high born noble than a poor woman who lived in a shack in Lowtown.

"Ladies and gentlemen," Gethon addressed the bar patrons, as Hawke and the others sat down in the arranged chairs. "We thank you for your waiting, and we will be performing in just a few moments. But before we start, I would like to…"

"Don't bother, just start the show!" Hawke picked up a lute and started to play, with the rest of the musicians following suit.

Even though there were other people playing a variety of musical instruments from drums to flutes, the elf only listened to Marian playing the lute. Fenris had never heard someone play the lute before, mostly because Danarius truly hated music. But, it was just as beautiful as her singing, and it had the same effect on him.

Then Hawke stood up and started singing:

_Gethon, Gethon, darling dear  
>I long for you now night and day.<br>Your pain was my pleasure, your sorrow my joy.  
>I feel now I've lost you to health and good cheer.<em>

The tempo picked up, and Gethon then sang:

_Darcy, when I met you I was five years too young  
>A boy beyond his age, or so I'd tell someone.<em>

Hawke turned to him with a small roll of her eyes:

_Anyone who'd listen and a few who couldn't care!  
>Still I welcomed you with open arms, my love I did share.<em>

The rest of the musicians sang:

_Darcy, Darcy darling dear,  
>You left me dying, crying there<br>In whiskey, gin, and pints of beer  
>I fell for you my darling dear<em>

Gethon:

_You shut me off and you showed me the door!_

Hawke:

_But you always came crawling back begging me for more.  
>I showed you kindness, a stool, and a tab.<em>

Gethon:

_Then you poured me my pain in a dirty glass!_

Other musicians:

_Yeah, you left him bloody, battered, penniless, and poor_

Hawke:

_You know, I often stopped and wondered how a guard came through my door…_

Gethon:

_With my brother's new position, it easy for me!_

Hawke:

_Well you bit off more than you could chew the first day you met me._

Other musicians:

_Darcy, Darcy darling dear,  
>You left me dying, crying there<br>In whiskey, gin, and pints of beer  
>I fell for you my darling dear<em>

Hawke:

_You weren't the first to court me mister you won't be the last!_

Gethon:

_Oh, I'm sure I wasn't honey, I know all about your past._

Hawke:

_Listen to the big knight with his page there on call!  
>You spent most of those nights in my privy stall.<em>

Other musicians:

_Yeah, you got him high, but you left him low!_

Hawke:

_Mind your own business, guys! How was I to know  
>That he was just a fiend and a no-good cheat.<em>

Gethon:

_Well it's all in the past bitch 'cause now I've got it beat._

They all sang the chorus a few times, and then the song ended with Hawke playing a softly on the lute. A roar of applause came from the audience that snapped Fenris back to his senses. They all did a small bow and Hawke sat back in the chair.

A few more songs were sung, but to the elf's irritation, Marian only strummed the lute. Out of the corner of his eye, Fenris could tell that Hawke had the attention of every man in the room. It was as if she had cast a spell over them all with her playing.

"And now for our final song," Gethon said while the others sat down, while Hawke stood up. "Two Mages."

Hawke:

_A lady sits at her own front door, waiting on her man  
>When by there came a lusty smith, with his hammer in his hand.<em>

_Saying,_

Gethon:

'_You are such a maiden fair, all in your robes of red,  
>Will ya take me in yer arms, and have me in your bed?'<em>

Hawke:

_'Away, away you cold blacksmith, what you do say is wrong,  
>Does thou think a lass like me can be had for just a song?'<em>

Gethon:

_He sang…_

Hawke and Gethon:

_'Bide, lady bide, your lust for me don't hide,  
>This dusty smith will be your love, so lay aside your pride.'<em>

Hawke:

_So the lady she took out her wand, held it high in her hand,  
>She turned herself into a cloud, said 'Catch me if you can!'<em>

Gethon:

_So the blacksmith shook his hammer, and it turned to a magic stick,  
>So he became a lightning bolt for to zap into her quick.<em>

_He sang…_

Hawke and Gethon:

_'Bide, lady bide, your lust for me don't hide,  
>This dusty smith will be your love, so lay aside your pride.'<em>

Hawke:

_So the lady she turned into a fish, a-swimmin' in the brook,_

Gethon:

_So he became a fishing rod for to catch her with his hook._

Hawke:

_But the lady she turned into a fly, flew up into the air,  
><em>Gethon:

_So he became a hairy spider for to drag her into his lair_

_Singing…_

Hawke and Gethon:

_'Bide, lady bide, your lust for me don't hide,  
>This dusty smith will be your love, so lay aside your pride.'<em>

Hawke:

_Then the lady she turned into a rose, rosebud in the wood,  
><em> Gethon:

_So he became a bumble bee for to sting her where she stood._

Hawke:

_But the lady she turned into a horse, dark as the night is black._

Gethon:_  
>So he became a golden saddle for to climb onto her back!<em>

_He sang…_

Hawke and Gethon:

_'Bide, lady bide, your lust for me don't hide,  
>This dusty smith will be your love, so lay aside your pride.'<em>

Hawke:

_The lady fixed the blacksmith with a keen and a pricing eye._

Gethon:

_He gave a hardy laugh, 'Ha, ha I'll give you one more try.'_

Hawke:

_So the lady she turned into a man, leered up on him good._

Gethon:_  
>So he became a bonny lass,<em>

Hawke:

_And she took him where he stood._

Hawke and Gethon:

_'Bide, lady bide, your lust for me don't hide,  
>This dusty smith will be your love, so lay aside your pride.'<em>

With that the group stopped playing. Hawke ran out of the main room into one of the ones in the back.


End file.
